>^  A 


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APR  19  1918 


%«^/04L  SB'^ 


a.-< 


BV  940  .E7  1917 
Erb,  Frank  Otis. 
The  development  of  the  young 
people's  movement 


THE    DEVELOPMENT   OF  THE 
YOUNG  PEOPLE'S  MOVEMENT 


THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  CHICAGO  PRESS 
CHICAGO.  ILLINOIS 


Bgents 
THE  BAKER  &  TAYLOR  COMPANY 

NEW  YORK 

THE  CUNNINGHAM,  CURTISS  &  WELCH  COMPANY 

LOS  ANQGLEB 

THE  CAMBRIDGE  UNIVERSITY  PRESS 

LONDON  AND  EDINBURGH 

THE  MARUZEN-KABUSHIKI-KAISHA 

TOKTO,  OSAKA,  KYOTO,  FUKUOKA,  SENDAI 

THE  MISSION  BOOK  COMPANY 

BHANQHAI 

KARL  W.  HIERSEMANN 

LEIPZia 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF 
THE    YOUNG    PEOPLE'S 


MOVEMENT 


B3 


y 


FRANK  OTIS  ERB 


;f  fia  OF  ^^i^Q^ 


APR  19  1918 


THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  CHICAGO  PRESS 
CHICAGO,  ILLINOIS 


Copyright  191 7  By 
The  University  of  Chicago 


All  Rights  Reserved 


Published  January  1917 


Composed  and  Printed  By 

The  University  of  Chicago  Press 

Chicago,  Illinois,  U.S.A. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.  The  Period  of  Preparation,  to  1844:  The  Forces  in  Opera- 
tion             I 

The  development  of  democracy.  The  invention  of  steam-driven 
machinery.  Resulting  moral,  social,  and  religious  conditions,  in  America; 
in  England;  in  Germany.     The  religious  revival. 

II.  The  Period  of  Preparation:   Early  Organizations    ...       11 

Labor  organizations.  Mechanics,'  Institutions.  Adult  or  senior  Sunday- 
school  classes.  The  Sunday-school  teachers'  meeting.  Singing-schools. 
Temperance  societies.  Young  people's  missionary  societies.  Young 
people's  devotional  societies.  Conditions  in  1850.  Note:  The  Greek- 
letter  fraternities. 

III.  The  Period  of  Discovery  (i 844-1 860) 27 

The  continued  development  of  earlier  societies.  The  Y.M.C.A.:  the 
London  Association;  branches;  the  German  Jiinglingsvereine;  the 
American  Association;  earlier  American  societies;  the  Boston  Y.M.C.A.; 
the  American  federation;  the  Paris  convention.  Note  i:  The  Boston 
Y.M.C.U.     Note  2:  The  growth  of  colleges  (1844-1860). 

IV.  The  Period  of  Expansion  (1860-1881) 37 

Introduction:  The  link  between  the  Y.M.C.A.  and  the  Christian 
Endeavor  society.  The  development  of  the  work  for  young  men.  The 
"discovery"  of  young  women:  thedeaconess  movement;  the  Y.W.C.A.; 
the  woman's  college;  the  college  sorority.  Sex  co-operation.  Recogni- 
tion of  the  importance  of  recreation.  Social  service :  the  United  States 
Christian  Commission;  the  Lend-a-Hand  Clubs.  Beginnings  of  the 
appropriation  of  the  young  people's  movement  by  the  church:  Bible 
classes;  organized  societies  of  j^oung  people;  early  city  unions;  denomina- 
tional recognition  among  Methodists. 

V.  The  Period  of  Church  Appropriation  (1881-1889)  ....       52 

The  Christian  Endeavor  society.  The  first  Christian  Endeavor  society 
and  its  characteristics.  Growth.  Finances.  What  was  original  in  it  ? 
Criticisms  and  obstacles.    Secret  of  growth. 

VI.  The  Period  OF  Differentiation  ( 1 889-1 9 1 2) 64 

Phases  of  Y.M.C.A.  work  in  its  development.  Aspects  of  Christian 
Endeavor  work:  decline  of  the  great  convention;  the  enrolments;  the 
paid  state  secretary;  statistics.  Differentiation  on  basis  of  denomina- 
tion;   the  Epworth  League  and  the  Baptist  Union.    The  Epworth 


VI  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

League:  its  antecedents;  its  relation  to  the  Christian  Endeavor  society; 
its  adoption  by  the  church;  comparison  of  League  principles  in  1888, 1903, 
1913;  the  League  as  a  criticism  of  the  Christian  Endeavor  society  and 
other  previous  organizations;  weaknesses  of  the  League.  The  Baptist 
Union:  its  early  history;  its  organization;  its  relation  to  the  Christian 
Endeavor  movement;  the  study  courses;  the  Union  as  a  criticism  of 
earlier  societies;  weaknesses.    Denominational  differentiation  in  general. 

VII.  The  Period  of  Differentiation — Continued 88 

(i)  Differentiation  on  basis  of  sex :  Brotherhood  of  St.  Andrew;  Brother- 
hood of  Andrew  and  Philip;  denominational  brotherhoods;  men's 
organized  classes;  rapid  growth  of  Y.W.C.A.  and  deaconesses; 
Daughters  of  the  King;  the  King's  Daughters.  The  significance  of 
these  organizations  as  criticism.  (2)  Differentiation  on  basis  of  activity: 
the  missionary  movement;  the  Student  Volunteer  Movement;  foreign 
work  of  the  Y.M.C.A.;  the  missionary  movement  in  the  churches; 
effects. 

VIII.  Problems  and  Principles 100 

(i)  The  psychology  of  adolescence  a  basis  for  evaluation.  The  physio- 
logical facts;  intellectual  activity;  emotional  intensity.  Socializing 
function  of  sex:  (a)  its  directly  socializing  value;  (b)  irradiations  of  the 
sex  instincts;  (c)  rise  of  personal  religion.  (2)  Problems  of  young 
people's  church  societies:  (a)  Function;  analysis  of  activities  as  actually 
carried  on — the  same  elements  but  with  different  emphasis  in  the  organ- 
ized Sunday-school  class;  differing  opinions  among  clergymen;  outstand- 
ing problems — organization  or  persons?  Field  or  force?  Type  of 
religion  ?  Sex  co-operation  or  separation  ?  Adjustment  to  local  condi- 
tions— (b)  Organization  within  a  local  church;  (c)  Community  federa- 
tion;  (d)  National  federation. 


CHAPTER  I 

THE  PERIOD  OF  PREPARATION,  TO  1844:    THE  FORCES  IN 

OPERATION 

The  period  covering  the  last  half  of  the  eighteenth  and  the     1^ 
first  quarter  of  the  nineteenth  century  was  emphatically  one  of 
transition.     It  witnessed  the  breaking  up  of  old  habits  of  living, 
working,  and  thinking  by  new  ideas  and  new  ways  of  life  and  labor. 

In  this  change  three  factors  are  of  especial  importance:    the    ^ 
first,  political^ — the  development  of  democracy;   the  second,  indus- 
trial— the  invention  of  steam-driven  machinery;    and  the  third, 
moral  and  religious — the  great  revival  of  the  eighteenth  century. 

The  first  is  marked  by  three  great  revolutions:  the  Enghsh  of 
1688,  finding  its  apologist  and  philosopher  in  John  Locke;  the 
French  of  1789,  being  but  the  application  of  Rousseau's  Social 
Contract;  and  this  in  turn  being  largely  a  popularization  of  Locke; 
and  the  American  of  1776,  which  in  the  opening  sentences  of  its 
Declaration  speaks  for  them  all. 

In  addition  to  this  political  aspect,  the  democratic  spirit  led 
a  revolt  against  absolutism  everywhere,  religion  and  intellect  not 
excluded.  The  final  and  authoritative  doctrines  of  the  church 
were  fiercely  assailed  by  Voltaire  and  his  friends,  not  least 
because  they  were  final  and  authoritative,  and  those  who  held  them 
were  denounced  as  ignorant,  superstitious,  or  hypocritical.  Free- 
dom of  thought  was  not  only  demanded  but  asserted.  In  England 
and  Germany  similar  assaults  were  made,  but  not  so  effectively. 
The  doctrinal  foundation  of  the  church  having  been  swept  away, 
an  age  that  identified  religion  with  the  church  was  left  without 
religion.  This  was  less  keenly  felt  because  of  the  prevailing 
immorality  of  many  of  the  priesthood  in  France,  and  because  of  the 
character  of  the  drinking,  fighting,  swearing  clergymen  of  the 
Church  of  England.  The  loss  of  a  religion  which  had  no  power 
over  its  exponents  could  scarcely  be  regarded  as  serious.  The 
church,  however,  was  felt  to  be  a  necessity  to  government,  and 
outward  respect  was  paid  to  its  worship  on  ceremonial  occasions. 


THE   YOUNG  PEOPLE'S   MOVEMENT 


Voltaire  and  his  immediate  circle  went  only  part  of  the  way  in 
this  democratic  movement.  They  had  little  knowledge  of,  or 
interest  in,  the  masses  of  the  population.  It  remained  for  Rous- 
seau to  become  the  spokesman  of  the  dumb  and  distressed  multi- 
tude. The  French  Revolution  resulted.  The  ideas  of  Voltaire, 
Rousseau,  and  company  spread  to  Germany  and  America,  wheat 
and  chaff  together,  and  for  the  time  democracy  and  atheism  were 
inseparable. 
1^  ^  The  invention  of  steam-driven  machinery  led  directly  to  the 
rise  of,_the._factory  system  with  its  beneficent  and  maleficent 
effects.  The  old  system  of  home  manufacture,  in  which  personal 
skill  v/as  so  large  a  factor,  in  which  the  master  and  his  family 
were  on  friendliest  terms  with  journeyman  and  apprentice,  in  which 
the  children  of  the  household  early  made  their  contribution  of 
labor  under  the  parental  eye,  and  so  learned  the  family  trade,  was 
swept  away.  In  its  place  came  largely  increased  production  and 
the  crowding  of  people  about  the  factories.  A  second  result  of  the 
invention  of  steam-driven  machinery  was  the  development  of 
transportation  by  land  and  sea.  This  interlocked  with  the  factory 
system,  bringing  food  and  raw  materials  to  the  factories  and  dis- 
tributing the  finished  product.  These  two  elements  in  large 
measure  explain  the  growth  of  the  city.  The  rapid  develop- 
ment of  the  city  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  the  number  of 
people  in  cities  in  the  United  States,  compared  with  the  total 
population,  was  3.4  per  cent  in  1790;  4.93  per  cent  in  18 10;  6.  72 
per  cent  in  1830;  12.5  per  cent  in  1850;  and  33.  i  per  cent  in  1900. 
In  this  same  period  in  the  United  States  the  number  of  cities 
of  8,000  population  and  upward  had  grown  from  6  in  1790  to  11 
in  1810,  26  in  1830,  85  in  1850,  and  545  in  1900. 

The  new  conditions  of  labor  entailed  many  serious  consequences. 
The  factories  and  houses  were  ill-constructed  and  insanitary  sheds; 
the  work  was  exhausting  and  the  hours  long;  woman  and  child 
labor  was  exploited  almost  beyond  belief;  large  numbers  of  young 
men  and  women  were  left  virtually  without  moral  oversight. 
This  enables  us  to  understand  the  violent  reaction  of  the  idle  hours, 
with  their  drinking,  fighting,  gambling,  licentiousness,  and  related 
evils. 


THE   PERIOD   OF   PREPARATION  3 

In  the  American  colonies,  there  was  a  steady  decline  of  both 
morals  and  religion  after  the  first  generation.  Lechford  in  Plain 
Dealing,  in  1641 ,  says  that  not  more  than  one-quarter  of  the  popula- 
tion were  members  of  the  church.  Thomas  Prince  declares:  "A 
little  after  1660,  there  began  to  appear  a  Decay:  And  this  increased 
in  1670,  when  it  grew  very  visible  and  threatening  and  was  gener- 
ally complained  of  and  bewailed  bitterly  by  the  Pious  among 
them:  And  yet  more  to  1680  when  but  few  of  the  first  generation 
remained."  In  1678  Increase  Mather  stated  that  "many  are  pro- 
fane, drunkards,  lascivious,  scoffers  at  the  power  of  Godliness."^ 

The  chief  sins  were  impurity  and  intemperance.  In  the 
church  at  Andover  the  principal  causes  of  discipline  for  a  century 
and  a  quarter  were  "fornication  and  drunkenness."''  One  church 
of  two  hundred  members  included  sixty-six  who  had  confessed  to 
improper  sexual  relations.^  While  this  was  probably  a  larger 
number  than  was  usual,  one  finds  a  similar  state  of  affairs  wherever 
records  exist.  The  custom  of  bundling,  sanctioned  by  the  com- 
munity, was  largely  responsible  for  this  condition. ■♦ 

Virtually  everyone  drank  intoxicating  liquors  upon  occasion. 

Theodore  Parker  declares : 

It  is  recorded  in  the  probate  ofi&ce  that  in  1678  at  the  funeral  of  Mrs. 
Mary  Norton,  widow  of  one  of  the  ministers  of  the  First  Church  in  Boston, 
fifty-one  gallons  and  a  half  of  the  best  Malaga  wine  were  consumed  by  the 
mourners.  In  1685,  at  the  funeral  of  the  Rev.  Thomas  Cobbett,  minister  of 
Ipswich,  there  were  consumed  one  barrel  of  wine  and  two  barrels  of  cider. 
....  Towns  provided  intoxicating  drinks  at  the  funerals  of  their  paupers,  s 

In  1775,  an  old  minister  in  a  Fast  Day  sermon  said:  "Vast  num- 
bers, young  and  old,  male  and  female,  are  given  to  intemperance, 
so  that  it  is  a  common  thing  to  see  drunken  women  as  well  as 
drunken  men."^  In  the  archives  of  the  First  Baptist  Church  of 
Boston  is  a  bill  for  liquors  drunk  at  the  ordination  of  Rev.  Joseph 
McKean,  at  Beverley,  Massachusetts,  in  1785.     It  includes  30 

'  Dakin,  unpublished  thesis  for  the  degree  of  D.B.,  University  of  Chicago. 

^  Dorchester,  ChristianUy  in  the  United  States,  p.  218. 

'  Holtz,  unpublished  paper  on  "Religious  Education  in  New  England." 

*  Howard,  Matrimonial  Institutions. 

5  Parker,  Speeches  and  Addresses,  pp.  341  ff. 

'  Dorchester,  op.  cit.,  pp.  212  f. 


4  THE   YOUNG  PEOPLE'S  MOVEMENT 

bowls  of  punch  before  meeting,  lo  bottles  of  wine,  44  bowls  of 
punch  at  dinner,  18  bottles  of  wine,  8  bottles  of  brandy,  cherry- 
rum,  and  concludes,  "6  people  drank  tea."^ 

Lyman  Beecher  describes  an  ordination  he  attended  in  18 10: 
"At  this  ordination  the  preparation  for  our  creature  comforts- — 
besides  food,  was  a  broad  sideboard  covered  with  decanters  and 
bottles  and  sugar  and  pitchers  of  water.  There  we  found  all  the 
kinds  of  liquor  then  in  vogue.  The  drinking  was  apparently 
universal.  This  preparation  was  made  by  the  society  as  a  matter 
of  course."^  Indeed,  liquor  was  used  on  all  occasions,  at  births, 
marriages,  and  deaths,  at  the  raising  of  a  barn,  house,  or  church,  at 
the  harvesting  of  hay,  at  communion,  at  ordinations  and  other 
religious  gatherings,  and  in  most  homes  regularly. 

Gambhng  in  all  forms  was  common.  Most  astonishing  to  us, 
perhaps,  is  the  warm  approval  of  the  lottery  by  people  at  large. 
After  the  fire  of  1 76 1 ,  Faneuil  Hall  was  rebuilt  by  a  lottery.  Funds 
for  Harvard,  Yale,  and  other  college  buildings  were  so  raised.  The 
United  States  Congress  passed  at  least  seventy  acts  authorizing 
lotteries  before  1820.  "In  the  U.S.,  ....  colleges  have  been 
founded,  churches  built  or  repaired,  roads  made,  bridges  built, 
ferries  improved  and  hospitals  erected  by  the  aid  of  lotteries." 

A  writer  speaking  of  the  period  from  1815  to  1851  says  of  the 

West: 

In  the  west,  while  government  and  order  were  being  established,  gambling, 
drunkenness,  licentiousness,  robbery  and  sometimes  murder,  threatened  to 
overturn  the  new  States  before  they  could  be  formed.  The  steamboats  which 
plied  the  Great  Lakes,  the  Mississippi  river  and  the  Ohio,  were  the  haunts 
of  gamblers  and  thieves,  who  were  as  ruthless  as  the  highwaymen  in  the  days  of 
Robin  Hood.  Slavery  in  the  South,  Indian  warfare  and  the  hardly  less  demoral- 
izing Indian  trading  in  the  North,  and  with  it  all  the  isolation  of  pioneer  life, 
stifled  the  religious  aspiration  of  the  people.* 

[/  This  decay  of  religion  was  a  source  of  great  distress  to  the 
remnant  of  religious  folk.  In  1724  Cotton  Mather  put  forth  a 
pamphlet  entitled  Proposals  for  the  Revival  of  Dying  Religion.  The 
next  year  he  presented  to  the  Massachusetts  legislature,  in  the 

'  Wood,  History  of  First  Baptist  Church  of  Boston. 

'  Quoted  in  Blair,  The  Temperance  Movement,  p.  475. 

3  Doggett,  History  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association,  I,  97. 


THE   PERIOD   OF  PREPARATION  5 

name  of  the  general  commission  of  ministers,  a  petition  for  a  synod 
to  be  called  to  remedy  the  great  and  visible  decline  of  piety.  The 
Revolutionary  War  was  brutalizing  in  itself,  and  in  addition  the 
American  gratitude  toward  and  admiration  for  the  French  led  them 
to  adopt  the  French  infidelity  so  rife  at  the  time.  One  writer  in 
1836  says :  "  I  knew  a  party  formed  more  than  fifty  years  ago  for  the 
avowed  purpose  of  destroying  Christianity  and  religious  govern- 
ment. All  these  men  died  violent  deaths."  Lyman  Beecher 
declares : 

That  was  the  day  of  the  infidelity  of  the  Tom  Paine  school.    Boys  that 

dressed  flax  in  the  barn  read  Tom  Paine  and  believed  him Most  of  the 

class  before  me  [at  Yale]  were  infidels,  and  called  each  other  Voltaire,  Rousseau, 
D'Alembert,  etc.    They  thought  the  faculty  were  afraid  of  free  discussion.' 

In  a  striking  article.  Dr.  C.  F.  Dole  sums  up  the  whole  situation 
at  the  close  of  the  century.  There  were  only  four  professing 
Christians  among  the  students  at  Yale,  church  attendance  was 
small  universally,  many  churches  had  no  settled  ministers,  the 
preaching  was  lifeless  and  mechanical,  drunkenness  was  common 
even  among  ministers  and  deacons,  and  the  general  level  of  morals 
was  low.^ 

Nor  was  it  otherwise  in  the  South.     Bishop  Meade  says: 

As  late  as  1810,  infideUty  was  rife  in  the  State,  and  the  College  of  William 
and  JMary  was  regarded  as  the  hotbed  of  French  politics  and  religion.  I  can 
truly  say  that  then  and  for  some  years  after,  in  every  educated  young  man  in 
Virginia  whom  I  met  I  expected  to  find  a  skeptic,  if  not  an  avowed  unbeliever. 
....  The  clergy  for  the  most  part  were  a  laughing  stock,  or  objects  of  disgust.^ 

In  England  the  conditions  were  even  worse.     Hours  of  labor 

were    excessively    long.     George    Hitchcock,    speaking    in    1853, 

described  the  drapery  trade  of  1836: 

Young  men  in  the  larger  houses  were  herded  together,  ten  to  fifteen  in  a 
room  at  night.  They  were  literally  driven  from  the  shops  to  their  beds  and 
from  their  beds  to  the  shop  by  a  person  called  a  shop-walker.  There  was  no 
sitting-room,  no  social  comfort,  no  library;  they  remained  until  they  were 
taken  ill,  then  they  were  discharged  at  a  moment's  notice;  away  they  went, 
many  of  them  to  the  workhouse  and  numbers  of  them  used  to  die  prematurely.* 

'  Lyman  Beecher,  Autobiography,  I,  43. 

'  New  England  Magazine,  N.S.,  XII,  535  ff. 

*  Meade,  Old  Families  and  Churches  in  Virginia,  I,  29,  52. 

^Doggett,  op.  cit.,  I,  79. 


-y 


6  THE  YOUNG  PEOPLE'S  MOVEMENT 

Drinking,  gambling,  vulgarity,  and  vice  were  common  among 
these  men. 

The  industrial  revolution  was  well  under  way  by  the  end  of  the 
^entury.  The  factories  had  drawn  together  by  hundreds  the 
families  dispossessed  by  the  sheep-farmers.  Their  houses  were 
mere  sheds,  built  without  reference  to  health,  comfort,  or  decency. 
Both  sexes  were  frequently  herded  together  promiscuously,  so  that 
"factory  girl"  was  a  term  of  abuse.  The  labor  of  women  was 
exploited,  as  regards  hours,  intensity,  and  insanitary  conditions 
of  work,  almost  beyond  belief.  The  labor  of  the  children  of 
workingmen  was  in  demand,  and  children  from  poorhouses  were 
farmed  out  by  the  manufacturers  and  then  worked  to  death.  The 
A.  first  English  Factory  Act,  1802,  limited  in  its  application  to  chil- 
dren, provided  that  the  latter  should  not  work  more  than  twelve 
hours  a  day,  and  that  these  hours  must  be  between  six  o'clock  in 
the  morning  and  nine  o'clock  in  the  evening.  In  this  Act  no 
limit  was  fixed  as  to  the  age  below  which  children  must  not  work; 
such  legislation  would  not  have  passed.  The  second  Factory  Act, 
in  1819,  set  an  age  limit  of  nine  years,  with  a  twelve-hour  day 
exclusive  of  time  for  meals,  for  children  under  sixteen.  Under 
such  conditions  the  great  mass  of  the  people  were  ignorant,  degraded, 
unreligious. 

What  was  true  of  the  masses  was  true  also  of  the  classes.  The 
long-continued  wars  were  most  disastrous  to  English  morals  and 
religion.  Infidelity  was  rife.  Gambling  was  found  everywhere. 
Up  to  1830  drunkenness  was  widespread  and  increasing.  A 
Doctor  of  Divinity  at  Oxford  was  discovered  going  home  intoxi- 
cated one  night,  walking  round  and  round  the  rotunda  of  the  Rad- 
cliffe  Library  and  wondering  why  he  did  not  reach  his  destination.'' 

In  1803  Bishop  Burgess  wrote  of  the  Welsh  see  of  St.  David: 
'"The  church  and  ecclesiastical  buildings  are  in  a  ruinous  condi- 
tion. Many  of  the  clergy  are  incompetently  educated  and  dis- 
grace their  profession  by  inebriety  and  other  degrading  vices.' 
....  Clergymen  often  occupied  several  livings  and  neglected  them 
all."^     The  interest  of  the  church  in  the  people  being  at  so  low  an 

'  Watson,  Fifty  Years  of  the  Sunday  School,  chap.  ii. 
^Doggett,  op.  cit.,  I,  17. 


THE   PERIOD   OF   PREPARATION  7 

ebb,  it  is  not  surprising  that  the  interest  of  the  people  in  the  church 
was  in  a  corresponding  state. 

In  Germany  somewhat  the  same  condition  existed.  The  old 
system,  under  which  the  apprentice  lived  in  the  family  of  the 
employer,  went  to  church  with  him  on  Sunday,  and  was  under  his 
constant  supervision,  broke  down  between  1800  and  1820.  The 
young  workingmen  drifted  hither  and  yon.  The  cheap  lodging 
house,  unspeakable  in  its  accommodations  and  in  its  moral  charac- 
ter, sprang  into  being.  Beer-gardens  multiplied.  The  democracy 
and  atheism  of  the  French  philosophers  were  seized  upon  with 
avidity.  The  church,  moreover,  was  regarded  as  the  bulwark  of 
things  as  they  were.  Two  prevailing  sentiments  characterized 
the  young  German  workingman:  unbelief  in  God,  and  indifference 
or  hostility  to  the  church.  As  late  as  1848,  Pastor  Diirselen  could 
say:  "We  hear  how  hundreds  of  societies  of  young  men  have  been 
formed  from  which  comes  forth  the  challenge, '  We  hate  Christianity. 
God  must  be  discarded.  We  will  never  rest  until  every  comrade 
has  personally  renounced  God.'" 

In  addition,  however,  to  the  political  and  industrial  forces,  with 
their  immediate  effects  as  described,  a  constructive  force  of  increas- 
ing power  was  also  at  work,  namely,  the  great  revivals  of  the 
eighteenth  and  early  nineteenth  centuries.  The  great  awakening 
in  America  began  under  Jonathan  Edwards'  ministry  at  North- 
ampton, Massachusetts,  in  1734,  and  spread  rapidly  over  the 
whole  country.  It  was  greatly  reinforced  by  the  preaching  of 
Whitefield,  and  despite  the  opposition  to  revivals  on  the  part  of 
the  faculties  of  Yale  and  Harvard,  and  of  many  of  the  leading 
Congregational  clergymen  of  Massachusetts,  it  affected  profoundly 
the  religious  life  of  the  colonies,  producing  the  conviction  that  the 
immediate  conversion  of  sinners  actually  does  take  place,  and  that 
every  person  ought  to  have  an  inner  assurance  of  salvation. 

The  Revolution  with  its  paralyzing  effect  upon  rehgious  life  V 
set  back  this  movement  for  a  time,  but  toward  the  close  of  the 
century  the  tide  began  to  rise  again.  In  1795  Dr.  D wight  came 
to  Yale,  and  for  six  months  preached  on  the  Bible  as  the  Word  of 
God.  These  sermons  constituted  a  powerful  offset  to  the  infidehty 
of  the  time. 


8  THE   YOUNG   PEOPLE'S   MOVEMENT 

It  was  the  day  of  the  concert  of  prayer  for  the  advance  of 
religion.  In  1746,  at  the  request  of  a  group  of  Scottish  ministers 
that  the  Christians  of  America  unite  with  them  in  prayer  for  the 
spread  of  the  gospel,  Jonathan  Edwards  wrote  a  pamphlet  entitled 
A  Humble  Attempt  to  Promote  Agreement  and  Visible  Union  of  God's 
People  in  Extraordinary  Prayer  for  the  Revival  of  Religion  and  the 
Advancement  of  Christ's  Kingdom  on  Earth.  This  work  was  widely 
read  in  England,  and  as  a  result,  in  1784,  the  "monthly  concert  of 
prayer"  was  instituted  by  the  Baptist  ministers  of  Northampton- 
shire. It  speedily  crossed  the  Atlantic,  and  covenants  were  entered 
into  to  spend  certain  periods  each  week  in  prayer  and  a  certain 
day  each  month  in  fasting  and  prayer.  In  1798,  the  New  York 
Missionary  Society  adopted  the  concert  of  prayer,  and  the  members 
met  on  the  second  Wednesday  of  each  month  in  the  respective 
churches  in  turn.  Out  of  this  concert  of  prayer,  which  became 
nearly  universal,  grew  the  weekly  prayer-meeting  of  the  churches, 
and  also  the  missionary,  Sunday  school,  and  other  phases  of  church 
concert  so  common  until  recently.  It  should  be  added  that  the 
Methodists  had  had  their  class-meeting  since  1743,^  but  took  up  the 
concert  of  prayer  in  addition.  This  increasing  religious  enthusiasm 
soon  superseded  conditions  represented  by  such  statements  as 
these:  "Meetings  for  prayer  among  the  brethren  of  the  Church 
[Braintree,  Massachusetts]  had  been  unknown  during  the  life 
of  its  members."  "Rev.  John  Fiske,  of  New  Braintree,  Mass., 
....  stated  that  he  had  been  eleven  years  pastor  of  the  Church 
before  he  heard  the  first  word  of  prayer  from  any  of  his  members." 

In  1799,  two  brothers  named  McGee,  one  a  Methodist,  the  other 
a  Presbyterian,  started  on  a  preaching  tour  through  Tennessee  and 
Kentucky.  A  remarkable  revival  with  extraordinary  features 
resulted.  People  came  long  distances  to  attend  these  meetings  in 
the  open  air,  and  thus  the  camp-meeting  was  bom.^  Itinerant 
Methodist  preachers  followed  up  this  revival  by  organizing  classes 
for  weekly  meetings  under  the  leaders,  and  visiting  them  every  few 
weeks.  As  a  result,  the  Methodists,  who  had  numbered  14,000  in 
1773,  numbered  40,000  in  1800,  and  196,000  in  1812. 

'  Epworth  Herald,  September  7,  1890,  p.  i. 
» Methodist  Magazine,  182 1,  pp.  189  ff. 


THE   PERIOD   OF   PREPARATION  9 

The  work  of  Finney  must  also  be  mentioned.  He  was  licensed 
to  preach  in  1822,  and  preached  until  i860.  Great  revivals 
everywhere  resulted  from  his  work.  His  books  carried  his  message 
to  thousands  who  never  saw  him.  In  particular,  his  Lectures  on 
Revivals  (1835)  and  Lectures  to  Professing  Christians  (1836), 
profoundly  influenced  George  Williams  in  England,  and  determined 
the  character  of  the  Y.M.C.A.  from  the  start. 

The  colleges  were  not  insulated  from  the  great  revival  move- 
ment. Revivals  occurred  at  Yale  in  1802,  1808,  1812,  1823,  1827, 
183 1,  1835.  Dartmouth,  Amherst,  Williams,  and  others  were 
similarly  affected. 

In  England  the  Wesleyan  revival  took  place  in  the  eighteenth  y(^ 
century.  At  Oxford  in  1829,  four  young  men,  including  Charles 
and  John  Wesley,  joined  in  a  society  for  the  promotion  of  earnest 
religious  life.  The  evangelist  George  Whitefield,  with  others, 
joined  the  group  a  little  later.  They  met  on  three  or  four  evenings  a 
week  for  the  study  of  the  Greek  Testament  and  certain  ancient 
classics.  Through  prayer  and  religious  conversation  they  sought 
to  reach  the  ideal  of  Christian  experience.  They  received  the 
communion  weekly  and  fasted  twice  each  week.  They  practiced 
rigid  economy  and  devoted  generous  portions  of  their  time,  ability, 
and  money  to  the  care  of  the  poor,  the  sick,  and  the  imprisoned. 
Because  of  their  methodical  way  of  living  they  were  called  "  Metho- 
dists." From  this  little  group  arose  the  Wesleyan  revival  which 
shook  England  to  its  foundations.  One  of  the  most  significant  Y 
features  of  the  movement  was  the  extended  use  of  laymen  in 
religious  work,  arising  from  necessity,  and  proving  a  mighty  force 
in  the  development  and  consolidation  of  Methodism.  The  lay 
preacher,  the  class-leader,  the  Sunday-school  teacher,  were  the 
forerunners  of  the  modem  "personal  workers."  From  the  Wes- 
leyan revival  as  the  chief  cause  came  the  zealously  evangelistic 
Methodist  churches  of  various  names;  a  new  spirit  of  evangelism 
in  the  free  churches;  a  new  moral  earnestness  and  religious  power 
in  the  Church  of  England;  a  floodtide  of  philanthropic  zeal;  and, 
finally,  the  foreign  missionary  enterprise. 

Germany,  also,  while  experiencing  no  widespread  emotional 
outburst  of  religious  fervor,  saw  from  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth 


lO  THE   YOUNG   PEOPLE'S   MOVEMENT 

century,  a  turning  away  from  theological  disputation,  on  the 
part  of  many  evangelicals,  to  works  of  mercy  and  help  and  to  the 
practice  of  personal  piety.  The  Pietists,  Francke  and  Spener, 
founded  their  orphan  institution  at  Halle  in  1695.  We  note  also 
the  beginning  of  young  men's  clubs  for  purely  religious  purposes, 
and  the  rise  of  the  deaconess  movement,  to  both  of  which  we  shall 
return. 

In  the  next  chapter  we  shall  see  how  these  three  forces  began 
to  work  out  in  more  or  less  organized  ways.  The  industrial  factor 
supplied  the  constituency,  inasmuch  as  it  was  chiefly  responsible 
for  the  development  of  the  city.  There  also  resulted  conditions 
which  made  organization  imperative.  The  democratic  element 
with  its  watchword,  "Liberty,  Equality,  Fraternity,"  furnished 
part  of  the  stimulus  which  led  to  the  "discovery"  of  young  men, 
later  to  the  "discovery"  of  young  women,  and  still  later  to  their 
harmonious  co-operation  on  equal  terms.  The  religious  and  moral 
force,  working  through  its  emphasis  on  the  infinite  worth  of  every 
individual,  powerfully  reinforced  all  movements  for  human  better- 
ment, and  created  enterprises  of  its  own. 


CHAPTER  II 
THE  PERIOD  OF  PREPARATION:    EARLY  ORGANIZATIONS 

I.  The  conditions  of  life  and  labor  brought  into  existence  or 
intensified  by  the  industrial  revolution  virtually  compelled  the 
organization  of  workingmen  for  their  own  protection.  This  took 
form  first  in  the  "friendly  societies,"  which  were  essentially  sick- 
and  burial-insurance  clubs  with  social  features.  The  trade  union 
is  to  be  distinguished  from  these  by  its  explicit  attempt  to  improve 
conditions  of  living  and  working.  In  America  it  was  preceded  not 
only  by  the  friendly  society  with  members  from  several  occupations 
or  social  classes,  but  also  by  the  association  of  groups  of  men  from  a 
single  occupation  for  pohtical,  social,  or  other  purposes,  as  for 
instance  the  Caulker's  Club  of  Boston,  formed  slightly  earlier  than 
1800,  and  by  unorganized  strikes,  as  when  Boston  seamen  struck 
in  1802.  Soon,  however,  we  find  two  sorts  of  labor  unions  develop- 
ing. One  is  the  strict  trade  union,  with  membership  limited  to  the 
workers  in  one  trade.  The  first  of  these  appears  to  have  been  the 
New  York  Society  of  Journeymen  Shipwrights,  incorporated  in 
1803,  but  organized  somewhat  earher.  By  1840,  such  organiza- 
tions existed  in  the  principal  industrial  centers  "among  masons, 
marble-cutters,  shoe-makers,  sadlers,  hatters,  tailors,  printers 
bricklayers,  roofers,  painters,  carpenters,  and  shipworkers."  The 
second  type  of  labor  union,  arising  in  less  densely  populated 
districts,  embraced  members  of  several  trades,  or  even  had  an 
open  membership.  The  New  England  Association  of  Farmers, 
Mechanics  and  Workingmen,  organized  in  Boston  in  1832,  is  an 
instance.  But  none  of  these  early  unions  limited  themselves  strictly 
to  improving  the  conditions  of  labor.  The  New  England  Working- 
men's  Association,  formed  in  1845,  took  up  the  abolition  of  slavery, 
woman's  rights,  land  nationahzation,  and  the  withholding  of  sup- 
plies from  the  American  army  in  Mexico. 

In  England,  the  development  of  the  laissez  /aire  doctrine  led 
to  the  passage  of  several  acts  against  combinations  either  of  capital 
or  labor.     These  laws  were  enforced  against  labor  only,  and  so 

II 


12  THE   YOUNG  PEOPLE'S  MOVEMENT 

severely  as  to  permit  only  the  friendly  societies  to  live.  In  1824, 
however,  all  the  Combination  Acts  were  repealed.  Immediately, 
trade  unions  sprang  into  existence  with  very  large  membership, 
and  a  series  of  strikes,  for  the  most  part  as  unsuccessful  as  they  were 
costly,  took  place.  Reactionary  legislation  was  passed  in  the 
following  year,  but  workingmen  were  left  free  to  combine  for 
better  wages,  hours,  and  conditions  of  labor.  As  a  result,  local 
unions  were  gradually  formed  nearly  everywhere  and  many  federa- 
tions of  unions  organized. 

While  one  finds  in  the  history  of  the  trade  union  an  occasional 
statement  of  the  "youth"  of  certain  members,  and  their  inferred 
''unreliabihty,"  mention  of  a  young  men's  union  as  such  is  rare. 
The  following  statement,  therefore,  possesses  unusual  interest: 
''Such  is  the  rage  for  union  societies  that  the  sea  apprentices  in 
Dunderland  have  actually  had  regular  meetings  every  day  last 
week,  on  the  moor,  and  have  resolved  not  to  go  on  board  their  ships 
unless  the  owners  will  allow  them  tea  and  sugar.  "^  We  see  from 
this  that  the  organization  of  the  elders  was  teaching  the  apprentices 
to  organize.  Furthermore,  the  union  was  a  school  of  information, 
debate,  organization,  and  fraternity,  whose  advantages  the  abler 
young  people  would  not  be  slow  to  appreciate. 

2.  If,  however,  the  spontaneous  organization  of  a  young  men's 
union  is  rare,  the  increasing  needs  of  the  young  people  of  the  working 
classes  led  to  the  formation  of  mechanics'  institutions  and  mutual 
improvement  societies,  which,  while  predominantly  educational, 
possessed  large  social  values  as  well.  These  were  composed  almost 
entirely  of  young  men  and  offered  classes  in  practical  sub- 
jects, lectures,  papers  by  the  members,  circulating  libraries,  and 
reading-rooms.  They  formed,  indeed,  a  sort  of  club  for  ambitious 
young  workingmen.  While  they  never  became  as  common  in 
America  as  in  England,  they  possessed  essentially  the  same  char- 
acter, and  constitute  an  important  link  between  the  trade  union, 
which  was  essentially  a  forced  organization,  and  the  voluntary  union 
of  young  people  in  philanthropic  and  church  societies. 

The  earhest  of  these  was  probably  the  Society  for  the  Reforma- 
tion of  Manners,  started  in  1690  with  the  encouragement  of  De  Foe, 

'  Sheffield  Iris,  July  12,  1825;  quoted  by  Webb,  History  of  Trade  Unionism,  p.  99. 


EARLY   ORGANIZATIONS  1 3 

Dr.  Kidder,  and  others.  We  find  no  other  similar  organization 
until  1787,  when  the  factory  system  had  massed  crowds  of  people 
together,  and  ignorance  and  vice  were  becoming  alarmingly  com- 
mon. In  this  year,  a  reform  society  was  organized  at  Paisley. 
Between  1789  and  1796  four  societies  were  started  at  Birmingham, 
of  which  the  first  artisans'  library  was  one.  In  1793,  Dr.  John 
Anderson  gave  a  series  of  popular  scientific  lectures  to  tradesmen 
and  mechanics  in  Glasgow,  and  out  of  this  grew  the  whole  institute 
movement,  as  regards  its  aspect  of  technical  training.  Sadler 
estimates  that  in  1850  there  were  610  literary  and  mechanics' 
institutions  in  the  United  Kingdom,  with  a  membership  of  102,000, 
and  the  Earl  of  Carlisle  in  1846  stated  that  i  in  54  of  the  population 
of  Yorkshire  belonged  to  such  an  institution.  The  Society  of 
Useful  Knowledge,  organized  in  1825  for  the  purpose  of  providing 
cheap  and  good  books  for  popular  reading,  had  chiefly  in  view  the 
needs  of  these  societies. 

Partly  because  the  fees  were  too  high,  partly  because  the  classes 
assumed  more  preparatory  work  than  many  students  possessed,  the 
high  educational  character  of  the  mechanics'  institutes  declined. 
In  1830,  David  Naismith,  a  man  close  to  the  situation,  declared: 
*'In  these  days  when  so  many  of  our  so-called  Mechanics'  Institutes 
are  merely  cheap  reading  clubs  for  the  middle  classes,  and  lectures 
are  delivered  for  the  most  part  merely  for  a  pleasant  evening's 
amusement,  it  seems  to  me  that  we  have  greatly  departed  from  the 
original  design  with  which  the  Mechanics'  Institutions  were 
founded."^  Naismith  had  organized  in  Glasgow  in  1824  the  first 
of  a  series  of  "Young  Men's  Societies  for  Religious  Improve- 
ment." He  came  to  America  in  1830,  and  formed  some  thirty 
of  these  societies,  with  a  general  supervisory  board.  In  1839,  he 
resolved  to  give  them  up  and  predicted  their  speedy  termination. 
In  some  cases,  these  Societies  became  Young  Men's  Christian 
Associations.  Montreal,  Canada,  was  a  notable  instance,  for  here 
was  organized  the  first  Y.M.C.A.  in  America.  The  weakness  of 
these  earlier  societies  consisted  in  their  defective  organization, 
their  lack  of  spontaneous  development,  their  failure  to  emphasize 

'  Quoted  by  Magnus  in  Roberts  (ed.),  Industrial  Education  in  the  Nineteenth 
Century,  p.  140. 


14  THE  YOUNG  PEOPLE'S  MOVEMENT 

the  need  of  having  young  men  working  for  young  men,  and,  from 
the  standpoint  of  church  people,  the  absence  of  a  predominantly 
religious  character. 

3.  The  adult  or  senior  classes  of  the  Sunday  school  sought  to 
assist  the  same  class  of  people,  the  difference  being  that  in  this 
case  the  approach  was  from  the  side  of  the  church,  and  that  religion 
and  morality  were  the  chief  aims.  The  modern  Sunday  school 
originated  in  the  desire  to  teach  the  children  of  the  poor  to  read, 
and  sometimes  to  write  and  do  arithmetic,  on  the  only  day  at  their 
disposal.  It  was  intended  at  first  only  for  children  from  six  or 
seven  to  fourteen  years  of  age,  and  for  many  years  it  was  the  custom 
to  dismiss  children  at  the  age  of  fourteen,  with  a  Bible  and  good 
advice  publicly  bestowed.  It  began  to  be  felt,  however,  that  the 
failure  to  minister  to  young  people  was  an  instance  of  conspicuous 
waste.  In  some  cases,  ministers  conducted  Sunday  Bible  classes 
for  persons  over  fourteen,  but  since  Sunday  was  the  minister's 
busy  day  and  the  only  day  of  leisure  for  young  people,  such  classes 
were  relatively  rare. 

The  senior-class  or  adult-school  movement  started  in  1798 
Y.  in  Nottingham,  where  William  Singleton,  assisted  by  Samuel  Fox, 
gathered  a  group  of  working  women  on  Sunday  mornings  to  instruct 
them  in  the  "three  R's."  A  school  for  men  was  begun  soon  after. 
Rev.  Thomas  Charles  opened  a  Sunday  school  for  adults  at  Bala, 
Wales,  in  181 1.  In  18 14,  William  Trust  of  Bristol  wrote  to  his 
friend.  Dr.  Divie  Bethune  of  New  York,  describing  these  schools. 
Dr.  Bethune  in  the  next  year  visited  Philadelphia,  where  the  idea 
took  root.  In  18 16,  there  were  eight  adult  schools,  and  in  18 17 
the  Philadelphia  Sunday  and  Adult  School  Union  was  organized, 
"to  promote  among  other  things,  the  establishment  of  these  schools 
in  the  city  and  vicinity."  As  a  result  they  spread  rapidly.  Two 
important  books,  Todd,  The  Sabbath  School  Teacher  (1837),  and 
Packard,  The  Teacher  Taught  (1839),  strongly  advocated  adult 
schools.  The  former  assumed  that  young  people  must  be  dis- 
missed from  the  ordinary  school  to  these  senior  schools,  and 
recommended  classes  for  males  and  for  females  under  the  care  of 
the  pastor.  Interestingly  enough,  he  based  his  demand  for  senior 
classes,  psychologically,  upon  the  slow  maturing  of  the  mind.     The 


EARLY   ORGANIZATIONS  1$ 

latter  speaks  of  adult  schools  for  those  who  need  to  learn  to  read, 
and  for  domestics,  apprentices,  etc.  "The  plan  of  forming  a 
Bible  Class  in  every  school  district  seems  to  have  many  .... 
advantages."  Further,  "our  adult  classes  usually  ....  choose 
their  own  teacher." 

From  these  senior  and  adult  classes  have  developed  the  young 
people's  and  adult  classes  in  our  modern  Sunday  school,  which 
especially  in  their  organized  form  constitute  one  of  the  most  signi- 
ficant aspects  of  the  modern  young  people's  movement. 

4.  Another  line  of  development  furnished  by  the  Sunday  school 
is  found  in  the  teachers'  meeting.  Coincident  with  the  use  of 
voluntary  teaching,  the  teachers,  who  were  usually  young  men  and 
women,  frequently  recent  converts,  began  to  meet  more  or  less 
informally.  From  such  a  gathering  of  teachers  sprang  in  1803  the 
London  Sunday  School  Union,  which  aimed  to  extend  to  all  teachers 
the  benefits  they  had  found  in  their  meetings.  Naturally,  from  the 
first,  the  Sunday  School  Union  advocated  teachers'  meetings  and 
they  were  commonly  held  at  the  home  of  some  leader,  less  often 
at  the  home  of  a  minister.  Todd  declares  that  teachers  ought  to 
meet  weekly  to  be  instructed  in  the  next  Sunday's  lesson  and  to 
discuss  Sunday-school  affairs.  Packard  says  that  while  such  meet- 
ings are  not  essential  they  are  valuable  and  very  common.  "The 
best  schools  in  our  country  owe  their  pre-eminent  success  in  a  great 
degree  to  weekly  meetings  of  the  teachers  for  mutual  instruction 
and  prayers."  He  is  concerned  at  the  spirit  of  gaiety  which  these 
young  folks  manifest,  and  says  that  "prayer  will  tend  to  banish 
levity."  Dr.  Tyng  in  1866  says  that  it  has  been  for  a  long  time 
his  custom  to  meet  his  teachers  weekly  to  go  over  the  Sunday- 
school  lesson.^ 

For  our  purpose,  the  significant  thing  is  that  here  is  an  increas-  .  ';^ 
ingly  large  number  of  young  people  of  both  sexes  engaged  in  a 
common  task,  meeting  at  stated  times  for  prayer  and  religious 
discussion,  and  getting  not  a  little  social  enjoyment  at  the  same 
time.  It  was  precisely  such  a  group  as  constitutes  the  nucleus  of 
the  young  people's  societies  in  our  churches. 

'  Tyng,  Forty  Years'  Experience  in  the  Sunday  School,  p.  22. 


l6  THE  YOUNG  PEOPLE'S  MOVEMENT 

.  /  5.  The  singing-schools  of  the  eighteenth  and  early  nineteenth 

/        centuries  may  be  regarded  as  among  the  very  first  of  the  young 

people's  societies  in  America.     Here,  weekly  or  oftener,  the  youth 

of  both  sexes  met,  and  learned  to  sing  the  hymns  of  the  church.     A 

singing-school  existed  in  Boston  in  17 17,  and  about  this  time  a 

number  of  psalm-books  were  published  which  contained  primitive 

vocal  instruction.     As  the  young  people  learned  to  sing,   they 

naturally  grouped  themselves  together  in  church,  and  shortly  were 

assigned  special  seats.     Thus  the  church  choir  came  into  existence 

in  America.     In  Sewall's  diary  (March  16,  1761),  we  find  this  entry: 

"The  singing  extraordinary  excellent,  such  as  had  hardly  been 

heard   before   in    Boston."     Singing- schools    multiplied    rapidly. 

In  a  Salem  newspaper  of  this  period,  "Samuel  Wadsworth  Begs 

leave  to  inform  the  Publick,  but  the  Female  Sex  in  particular,  that 

he  has  opened  a  singing  school  for  their  Use  at  his  Dwelling- 

House  ....  to  be  kept  on  Tuesday  and  Friday  evenings  from 

6  to  9  o'clock." 

Music  books  suitable  for  such  classes  began  to  multiply.     In 

1778,  William  Billings  brought  out  a  revised  edition  of  his  earlier 

book,  The  New  England  Psalm  Singer,  or  American  Chorister  (1770), 

called  The  Singing  Master's  Assistant,  which  became  very  popular. 

The  Salem  Gazette  of  October,  1792,  printed  an  advertisement  of 

,  The  American  Harmony,  by  Oliver  Holden,  "Teacher  of  Music, 

in  Charlestown."     The  Massachusetts  Magazine  for  August,  1792, 

contains  the  following: 

To  the  Publick.  A  large  committee  having  been  selected  by  the  several 
Musical  Societies  of  Boston  and  its  vicinity,  beg  leave  to  solicit  the  attention 
of  the  publick  to  the  following  Proposals  for  publishing  a  Volume  of  Original 
American  Music  composed  by  William  Billings  of  Boston.  The  intended 
Pubhcation  wUl  consist  of  a  number  of  Anthems,  Fuges,  and  Psalm  Tunes, 
calculated  for  publick  socical  Worship,  or  private  Musical  Societies. 

The  Salem  Gazette  of  September,  1808,  informs  the  public  that 
a  chorus  under  the  direction  of  Samuel  Holyoke  will  give  a  concert 
"in  which  the  celebrated  Hallelujah  Chorus  by  Mr.  Handel  will  be 
performed."  The  choruses  capable  of  doing  such  work  were  simply 
a  development  of  the  singing-school  and  the  church  choir.  The 
Boston  Handel  and  Haydn  Society,  for  instance,  is  a  direct  out- 
growth of  the  choir  of  the  Park  Street  Church. 


EARLY  ORGANIZATIONS  1 7 

Further  detail  is  unnecessary,  but  two  points  must  be  added. 
What  was  taking  place  in  Boston  was  taking  place  in  all  the  cities. 
The  Enter peiad  of  Boston,  May  12,  182 1,  printed  a  list  of  oratorios 
and  grand  concerts  to  be  given  in  May  by  societies  in  Portland, 
Maine;  Augusta,  Georgia;  Philadelphia;  Baltimore;  Hanover,  New 
Hampshire;  Providence;  and  Boston.  Furthermore,  not  only  were 
the  cities  taking  up  the  matter,  but  the  country  districts  were 
establishing  singing-schools,  which  were  very  early  in  full  swing. 
They  did  not  sing  oratorios,  but  they  probably  got  as  much  enjoy- 
ment from  selections  more  adapted  to  their  capacities  and  oppor- 
tunities. The  very  fact  that  about  sixty  singing-books  were  in 
existence  by  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century  gives  one  an  idea  of 
the  size  of  the  constituency.  Down  to  the  very  last  these  books 
were  predominantly  religious  in  character. 

The  significance  of  the  singing-class  for  our  purpose  is  that  all 
over  the  country  these  gatherings  of  young  men  and  women 
were  taking  place  under  what  were  essentially  religious  auspices, 
affording  young  people  opportunity  to  meet  each  other  in  a  natural 
way  and  to  join  in  a  common  enterprise.  When  the  societies  of 
wider  scope  arose  they  frequently  superseded  the  singing-schools, 
music  being  an  important  element  in  the  new  organizations.  The 
church  choir,  however,  is  with  us  still. 

6.  The  temperance  societies  contribute  not  a  little  to  the  his- 
tory of  the  young  people's  movement.  In  1775,  a  Huguenot 
named  Benezet  had  written  The  Mighty  Destroyer  Displayed. 
This  greatly  influenced  a  personal  friend  of  his.  Dr.  Benjamin 
Rush,  who  in  1785  wrote  the  epoch-making  Inquiry  into  the  Effects 
of  Ardent  Spirits  on  the  Human  Body  &"  Mind.  This  was  reprinted 
in  the  Gentleman's  Magazine  in  1786  and  was  as  profoundly  influ- 
ential in  England  as  in  America.  Societies  began  to  spring  up. 
The  Federal  Herald  of  Lansingburgh,  New  York,  for  July  13,  1789, 
relates  that  more  than  two  hundred  farmers  of  Litchfield,  Cormecti- 
cut,  had  founded  an  association  to  discourage  the  use  of  spirituous 
liquors  and  had  determined  not  to  use  distilled  liquors  of  any  sort 
in  the  next  farming  season.^  Dr.  Rush's  Inquiry  found  its  way  into 
the  hands  of  Dr.  Billy  J.  Clark  of  Moreau,  New  York,  who  was 

*  Kimball,  The  Blue  Ribbon,  p.  12. 


1 8  THE  YOUNG  PEOPLE  S  MOVEMENT 

greatly  agitated  by  it,  and  who  with  his  pastor,  Rev.  Lebbaeus 
Armstrong,  founded  in  1808  the  Temperate  Society  of  Moreau 
&  Northumberland,  composed  of  forty-three  members,  who 
pledged  themselves  to  drink  no  distilled  liquors  except  upon 
physician's  orders,  and  no  wine  except  at  public  dinners.  It  was 
provided  that  "this  article  shall  not  infringe  on  any  religious 
1  ordinance."'  In  181 1,  Dr.  Rush  appeared  before  the  General 
/  Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian  church  to  present  the  temperance 
question,  and  a  committee  was  appointed  which  recommended  to 
the  ministers  that  they  preach  temperance  sermons.  The  following 
year,  when  the  committee  had  no  remedy  to  suggest,  Lyman 
Beecher  moved  that  another  committee  prepare  a  report.  This 
new  body,  of  which  he  was  chairman,  recommended,  in  addition 
to  preaching,  abstinence  from  ardent  liquors  on  the  part  of  ecclesi- 
astical gatherings,  on  the  part  of  church  members  even  on  social 
occasions,  and  on  the  part  of  parents  in  the  family;  that  employers 
abstain  from  furnishing  spirituous  liquors  to  employees;  and  that 
"voluntary  associations  to  aid  civil  magistrates  in  the  execution  of 
the  law"  be  formed.  In  1813,  the  Massachusetts  Society  for  the 
Suppression  of  Intemperance  was  organized,  and  in  18 15  it  reported 
thirty-three  auxihary  societies.  The  year  1829  witnessed  the 
organization  of  the  New  York  State  Temperance  Society.  By 
the  close  of  1829,  there  were  in  the  latter  state  a  thousand  local 
temperance  societies,  with  100,000  members. 

In  the  years  1826-30  the  total-abstinence  pledge  was  advocated 
throughout  New  York  state  by  Rev.  Joel  Jewell  in  the  face  of  great 
opposition,  largely  from  the  temperance  people.  Nevertheless, 
in  1833,  at  the  first  national  temperance  convention,  held  at  the  call 
of  the  American  Temperance  Society  and  attended  by  400  delegates 
from  twenty-one  states,  this  "teetotal"  pledge  was  adopted.  At 
this  time,  there  were  a  million  and  a  half  signers  of  the  old  pledge, 
over  4,000  local  organizations,  and  1,500  distilleries  had  ceased 
operations.  In  1840  came  the  Washingtonian  movement,  an  attempt 
by  reformed  drunkards  to  rescue  drunkards,  and  a  woman's  temper- 
ance society,  the  Martha  Washington  Society,  whose  purpose 
was  work  for  women, 

'  Armstrong,  The  Temperance  Reformation,  p.  19. 


EARLY   ORGANIZATIONS  19 

These  movements  waned,  and  the  secret  fraternal  temperance 
organizations  arose  to  gather  in  the  reformed  and  to  offer  them 
encouragement  and  social  life.  The  membership  of  these  lodges 
has  always  been  composed  very  largely  of  young  people,  and  the 
spirit,  for  the  most  part,  has  been  deeply  religious.  "Gospel 
temperance"  has  meant  the  divine  power  in  the  rescue  of  the 
drunkard. 

The  work  of  Father  Matthew  was  far-reaching  in  its  effects. 
He  began  his  work  in  Cork,  Ireland,  in  1838,  came  to  New  York  in 
1849,  and  at  least  a  dozen  of  the  societies  formed  at  this  time  were 
still  in  existence  in  1872,  when  the  Catholic  Total  Abstinence  Union 
was  formed. 

The  temperance  societies  thus  offered  to  young  men  in  particu- 
lar the  pleasure  of  organization  and  association,  and  the  challenge 
of  a  great  cause.  .^><— 

7.  The  young  people's  missionary  societies  which  began  to  ^'^  ^ 
spring  up  about  the  beginning  of  the  century  constitute  another  of 
the  converging  lines  of  the  developing  young  people's  movement. 
The  problems  of  the  scattered  white  settlers  in  America  and  of 
the  conversion  of  the  Indian  weighed  ever  more  heavily  upon  the 
Christian  conscience  of  the  people  on  the  Atlantic  seaboard.  The 
movements  to  meet  these  needs  were  at  first  largely  interdenomina- 
tional. The  New  York  Missionary  Society  was  formed  in  1796; 
the  Northern  Missionary  Society  of  the  State  of  New  York  in 
1797;  the  Missionary  Society  of  Philadelphia  in  1798;  the  Massa- 
chusetts Missionary  Society  in  1799;  the  Boston  Female  Society 
for  Missionary  Purposes  in  1800.^  In  1801  the  Presbyterians  and 
Congregationalists  made  an  agreement  with  reference  to  the 
evangehzation  of  western  New  York  and  Ohio  by  which  the  whole 
territory  was  covered.^ 

These  interdenominational  societies  worked  well  for  a  time,   '' 
but  as  the  denominations  grew,  the  denominational  societies  arose, 
at  first  as  auxiliary  to  the  interdenominational  society,  later  as  inde- 
pendent of  it.     One  of  the  earliest  of  these  was  the  Massachusetts 
Baptist  Missionary  Society,  formed  in  1802. 

'  Vail,  The  Morning  Hour  of  American  Baptist  Missions,  pp.  88  ff. 
^  Doggett,  op.  cit.,  91  ff. 


y 


20  THE  YOUNG  PEOPLE'S   MOVEMENT 

^At  this  point  too  the  women's  societies  arose.  In  the  annual 
sermon  before  the  Massachusetts  Baptist  Missionary  Society, 
in  1804,  Dr.  Baldwin  speaks  of  ''two  female  societies  in  this  place" 
(Boston),  one  of  which  was  called  the  Cent  Society  (its  members 
gave  one  cent  a  week  to  missions).  In  181 7  this  Society  gave 
ten  dollars  to  each  of  three  Baptist  Sunday  schools  in  Boston. 
Siinilar  societies  arose  throughout  New  England,  New  York,  New 
Jersey,  and  in  Philadelphia,  so  that  in  18 14,  when  the  General 
Convention  of  the  Baptist  Denomination  in  the  United  States  for , 
Foreign  Missions  was  constituted,  they  were  about  fifty  in  number.^ 
With  the  rise  of  the  foreign  missionary  enterprise,  through  Carey's 
work  and  letters,  and  the  change  of  view  that  made  Baptists  of 
Judson  and  Rice,  some  of  these  societies  added  the  foreign  work 
to  their  activities,  and  other  societies  were  organized  for  the  new 
work  alone.  The  first  of  the  distinctively  foreign  mission  socie- 
ties was  formed  at  Salem,  Massachusetts,  in  1812,^  followed  in 
April,  18 13,  by  the  New  York  Baptist  Female  Society  for  Promoting 
Foreign  Missions.  Luther  Rice  declared  that  there  were  17  exclu- 
sively foreign  missionary  societies  in  May,  18 14,  but  how  many  of 
them  were  women's  societies  we  do  not  know. 

In  the  wake  of  the  general  and  the  women's  societies  came  the 
young  people's  missionary  organizations,  A  Young  Men's  Society 
had  been  organized  for  devotional  purposes  in  the  Second  Baptist 
Church  of  Boston  in  1800.  Early  in  1802,  desiring  to  be  "more 
extensively  useful  to  their  fellow-beings,"  they  sought  advice  from 
their  pastor.  Dr.  Baldwin,  who  turned  their  attention  to  missionary 
work.  Missionary  meetings  were  held,  and  a  United  Society  of 
Young  Men,  drawing  its  members  from  the  three  Baptist  churches 
of  Boston,  was  organized.  In  18 10,  we  discover,  they  wished  to 
support  a  designated  missionary  for  one  quarter,  and  in  the  same 
year  they  were  credited  with  the  sum  of  thirty  dollars  given  toward 
the  support  of  Rev.  Amos  Allen  in  Maine.^ 

On  July  23,  1806,  the  Baptist  Youth's  Missionary  Assistant 
Society  of  New  York  City  was  formed,  after  the  model  of  the  Bap- 

'  Vail,  op.  cit.,  pp.  126  ff. 

*  Vedder,  Christian  Epoch  Makers,  pp.  333. 

3  Vail,  op.  cit.,  pp.  142  f.,  108. 


EARLY   ORGANIZATIONS  21 

tist  Missionary  Assistant  Society  of  London,  organized  in  1804 

to  collect  small  subscriptions.     This  society  was  composed — 

chiefly  of  young  persons  of  both  sexes.  Their  officers  are  young  men,  whose 
ages  according  to  their  constitution  must  not  exceed  a  certain  limitation. 
They  must  be  of  the  Baptist  persuasion  and  in  good  standing  in  some  church 

of  that  denomination They  hold  a  monthly  meeting  for  business,  which 

is  opened  and  closed  by  prayer  and  singing  appropriate  hymns.  They  also 
have  a  monthly  missionary  prayer  meeting. 

A  Young  Men's  Cent  Society  of  Newburyport,  Massachusetts,  is 
x:redited  with  a  contribution  of  four  dollars  in  181 1.  In  this  year 
the  Missionary  Magazine  announced  that  such  societies  had  been 
established  in  ''different  places "  and  were  affording  "  very  consider- 
able assistance  to  missionary  institutions."^ 

This  movement  in  the  Baptist  denomination  was  paralleled 
by  similar  movements  for  the  support  of  the  interdenominational 
societies.  On  January  23,  1809,  "Young  Men  of  several  denomina- 
tions" in  New  York  City  formed  themselves  into  a  society  to  pro- 
mote the  objects  of  the  New  York  Missionary  Society.  Seven  years 
later  they  ceased  to  be  an  auxiliary  society  and  became  the  Young 
Men's  Missionary  Society  of  New  York.^ 

In  1827,  the  New  York  Young  Men's  Auxiliary  Society  was 
formed,  as  an  assistant  organization  to  the  American  Tract 
Society,  organized  in  1824.  This  society  was  merged  in  1829  into 
the  New  York  City  Tract  Society. 

The  most  important  of  all  these  young  people's  societies  was 
that  organized  in  Williams  College  in  1806,  in  the  shelter  of  a  hay- 
stack during  a  thunderstorm.  Five  young  men,  of  whom  Samuel  J. 
Mills  was  the  leading  spirit,  pledged  themselves  in  prayer  to  the 
work  of  foreign  missions.  A  mission  study  class  was  formed  which 
sought  to  discover  conditions  and  needs  in  foreign  lands,  particu- 
larly in  India.  In  1808,  a  constitution  was  drawn  up  in  cipher, 
"public  opinion  being  opposed  to  us,"  and  a  pledge  signed  by  several 
that,  if  possible,  they  would  go  to  the  foreign  field.  At  Andover, 
in  1809,  Judson,  Nott,  and  Newell  joined  the  group.  A  memorial 
signed  by  these  young  men  was  presented  in  May,  18 10,  to  the  Gen- 
eral Association  of  Congregational  Churches,  requesting  appoint- 
ments as  foreign  missionaries.     On  September  5  of  that  year  the 

'  Vail,  op.  cit.,  p.  427.  *  Dorchester,  op.  cit.,  pp.  403  ff. 


/ 


22  TECE   YOUNG  PEOPLE'S   MOVEMENT 

American  Board  of  Commissioners  for  Foreign  Missions  was 
organized.  Organizations  similar  to  the  Andover  Society  of 
Brethren  were  formed  in  other  institutions,  ''some  of  which  still 

survive  under  the  title  of  Societies  of  Inquiry The  original 

Andover  society  still  exists  under  another  name  and  constitution."^ 

W>-  8.  Another  class  of  young  people's  societies  is  yet  to  be  con- 
A\  sidered,  namely,  those  organized  with  a  distinctively  devotional 

/  purpose.  There  had  been  organized  in  London  in  1678,  by 
Dr.  Anthony  Horneck,  of  Westminster,  a  Church  of  England  Young 
Men's  Society  composed  of  those  "awakened  to  a  serious  concern 
for  the  soul's  interest."  The  rule  of  life  urged  the  members  to 
love  one  another,  to  speak  evil  of  no  man,  to  wrong  no  man,  to 
pray,  if  possible,  seven  times  a  day,  to  keep  close  to  the  Church  of 
England,  to  be  peaceable  and  helpful,  to  examine  themselves  at 
night,  to  give  to  all  their  due,  to  obey  their  spiritual  superiors. 
Religious  meetings  were  held  at  which  the  church  prayers  were 
read,  a  psalm  was  sung,  religious  conversation  entered  into  at  the 
option  of  those  present,  but  no  controversy  was  allowed.  Forty- 
two  of  these  societies  were  known  in  London  and  vicinity,  with 
others  elsewhere.^ 

yj.  In  his  Autobiography,  Cotton  Mather  speaks  of  belonging  to  a 
7^^  society  in  1677  which  met  on  Sunday  evenings.  "There  we  con- 
stantly prayed,  and  sang  a  psalm,  taking  our  turns  in  such  devo- 
tions. We  then  had  a  devout  question,  proposed  a  week  before, 
whereto  anyone  present  gave  what  answer  he  pleased."  It  was 
natural,  in  view  of  the  decline  of  religion,  that  he  should  advocate 
and  organize  such  societies,  and  in  books  written  in  1694  and  17 10 
he  strongly  urges  their  formation.  In  1706,  a  group  of  Harvard 
students  "formed  a  society,  which  laying  to  heart  the  too  general 
decay  of  serious  piety  in  the  profession  of  it,  resolved  upon  some 
essays  to  speak  often  unto  one  another  or  to  carry  on  some  suit- 
able exercise  of  religion  together,  wherein  they  might  prove  bless- 
ings not  only  unto  one  another,  but  unto  many  more  whom  they 
might  be  concerned  for."  An  interesting  document  has  come  down 
to  us,  dated  1724,  and  entitled  Proposals  for  the  Revival  of  Dying 

'  Button,  in  the  Baptist  Union,  June  21,  1902. 

^  Leete,  Christian  Brotherhood  (Jennings  and  Graham,  1912),  pp.  213  ff. 


EARLY   ORGANIZATIONS  2$ 

Religion  by  W  ell-Ordered  Societies  for  That  Purpose.     The  preamble 

runs  as  follows : 

We,  whose  names  are  underwritten,  having  by  the  grace  of  God  been 
awakened  in  our  youth  to  a  serious  concern  about  the  things  of  our  everlasting 
peace,  and  to  an  earnest  desire  suitably  and  religiously  "to  remember  our 
Creator  in  the  days  of  our  youth,"  and  to  give  our  hearts  into  the  service  of 
God  through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  do  covenant  and  agree  together. 

Members  were  received  by  vote,  and  were  "obliterated"  if  they 

absented  themselves,  without  sufficient  reason,  from  the  weekly 

meetings.     Dr.  Mather  says: 

It  is  very  certain  that  where  such  Private  Meetings,  under  a  good  conduct, 
have  been  kept  aUve,  the  Christians  which  have  composed  them  have  like  so 
many  Coals  of  the  Altar  kept  one  another  alive,  and  kept  up  a  lively  Chris- 
tianity in  the  neighborhood.  Such  societies  have  been  tried  and  proved  to  be 
strong  Engines  to  uphold  the  Power  of  Godliness. 

Rev.  Otis  Gary,  while  home  on  furlough  from  Japan,  discovered 
at  Brockton,  Massachusetts,  an  old  notebook  with  a  similar  con- 
stitution, dated  1741,  written  into  it.  The  writer,  who  was  for 
seventy  years  a  member  of  the  church  (North  Parish  of  Bridge- 
water),  and  sixty  years  a  deacon,  was  at  the  time  of  writing  a 
youth  of  seventeen.     Here  is  one  article : 

I  it  shall  be  our  endeaveare  to  spend  the  tow  ourse  frome  seven  to  nine  of 
every  lords  day  evening  in  prayer  to  gathare  by  turnes  the  one  to  begine  and 
the  outhere  to  conclud  the  meting  and  betwene  the  tow  prayers  haveing  a 
sarmon  repeated  whereto  the  singing  of  a  psalm  shall  be  annexed  and  ef  aftear 
the  stated  exersise  of  the  eveneing  are  ovear  if  there  be  any  residue  of  time  we 
will  ask  one  a  nothare  questions  out  of  the  catecism  or  some  questions  in 
divinyty  or  have  some  reliagus  conversation  as  we  shall  best  sarve  for  the 
edefication  of  the  sosiety.^ 

These  societies  of  Mather's  seem  not  to  have  perpetuated    ^ 
themselves. 

In  the  decades  following  the  great  awakening,  and  especially 
after  the  turn  of  the  century,  it  was  not  unusual  for  young  people 
or  children  in  revival  time  to  meet  by  themselves  for  prayer- 
meetings.  In  the  Massachusetts  Baptist  Missionary  Magazine  for 
1804  there  is  a  letter  dated  April  30,  written  by  Rev.  Thomas  Rand 
of  West  Springfield.     In  it  he  remarks:    "Young  people  met  in 

'  Golden  Rule,  January  31, 1895;  Clark,  Training  the  Church  of  the  Future,  pp.  90  Q.; 
Clark,  Christian  Etideavor  in  All  Lands,  1906,  p.  21. 


24 


THE  YOUNG  PEOPLE  S  MOVEMENT 


societies  by  themselves  for  Christian  conversation,  each  sex  by 
themselves.  The  work  is  remarkable  among  youth  and  children." 
In  the  same  volume,  with  reference  to  a  revival  at  Wardsboro, 
Vermont,  it  is  related:  "Soon  the  children  and  young  people  were 
holding  most  impressive  conferences  by  themselves,  which  were 
carried  on  with  great  regularity  to  the  surprise  and  delight  of  their 
Pastor  and  older  brethren."  These  were  temporary  groups,  but 
in  1800,  in  the  Second  Baptist  Church  of  Boston,  a  young  men's 
society  was  organized,  which  met  on  Sunday  evenings  in  the 
meeting-house,  ''public  worship  at  that  hour  not  then  having  been 
established."  It  was  this  group  who  organized  the  United  Society 
of  Young  Men  for  missionary  propaganda,  but  they  did  not  lose 
their  identity.  The  records  of  the  church  for  July  13,  1804,  read: 
"Voted  that  our  young  brethren  be  allowed  to  occupy  the  vestry 
on  Friday  evenings  when  not  occupied  with  preaching." 

Table  I  will  indicate  what  these  various  agencies  accomplished 
in  America  with  reference  to  church  growth  in  the  half-century  from 
1800  to  1850. 

TABLE  I 


Ministers 

Congregations 

Communicants 

1800 

1850 

1800 

1850 

1800 

1850 

Congregationalist. .  . 

1,687 
4,578 
8,018 
6,000 
1,504 

1,971 
5,672 

13,455 
30,000 

1,550 

197,196 

490,259 

948,867 

1,250,000 

73,000 

Presbyterian 

Baptist 

300 

500 
1,150 

40,000 
65,000 
40,000 
16,000 

Methodist 

Episcopalian 

260 

320 

This  was  emphatically  a  period  of  preparation  and  of  beginnings. 
We  have  seen  some  of  our  great  modern  movements  getting  under 
way.  Probably  the  temperance  cause  has  never  evoked  such 
enthusiasm  as  during  the  thirties.  The  missionary  enterprise,  with 
its  appeal  to  the  romantic,  the  heroic,  and  the  religious  motives, 
stirred  the  imagination  and  gripped  the  conscience.  Philanthropy 
found  abundant  outlet  in  education,  factory  legislation,  work  for 
prisoners,  slaves,  and  the  submerged  population  generally.  Under- 
lying all  these  were  powerful  religious  forces,  the  great  awakening 
in  America,  paralleled  in  England  by  the  Wesleyan  revival  and  in 


EARLY  ORGANIZATIONS  2$ 

Germany  by  the  rally  against  rationalism.  The  rise  of  the  prayer- 
meeting,  the  beginning  of  the  recognition  of  women,  and  the  expan- 
sion of  lay  activity  in  purely  religious  fields  are  elements  in  the 
democratic  movement  within  the  church. 

The  revival  method  of  church  growth  and  of  individual  develop- 
ment is  dominant,  almost  alone,  in  the  evangelical  churches. 
Legitimate  church  work  is  essentially  the  winning  of  souls.  There 
is  practically  no  conception  that  young  people  form  a  special  group 
physically  and  psychologically,  with  interests,  capacities,  and  needs 
peculiarly  their  own.  The  ignorant,  the  vicious,  the  immature,  the 
unconverted,  and  the  heathen,  are  all  classed  together  as  those 
whom  the  educated  and  the  converted  should  help.  Sex  co- 
operation among  young  people  is  virtually  non-existent,  except  in 
choirs,  where  alto  and  soprano  voices  are  required,  and  in  teachers' 
meetings,  where  the  common  task  brings  together  all  who  happen 
to  be  engaged  in  it.  Organization  on  a  sex  basis  is  becoming 
common,  young  men  especially  having  many  societies  of  their  own.  -/ 

Note. — In  addition  to  the  religious  or  semi-religious  organizations  of 
young  people,  a  most  interesting  group  of  societies  arose  in  the  American 
colleges,  known  as  the  Greek- letter  fraternities.  They  grew  from  the  ruins 
of  Uterary  and  debating  societies,  some  secret,  some  non-secret,  rejoicing  in 
such  names  as  Hermesian,  Philolethian,  Erosophian,  Adelphi,  and  so  on. 
These  flourished  in  the  period  from  the  Revolution  to  1825,  or  thereabout. 
The  oldest  of  the  Greek-letter  societies  is  the  Phi  Beta  Kappa,  formed  at 
William  and  Mary  College  in  1776,  for  purposes  related  to  "literature, 
morahty,  and  fraternity,"  its  three  stars.  Seven  branches  had  been  organized 
down  to  1844.  Chi  Delta  Theta,  organized  at  Yale  in  182 1  as  a  Senior  society, 
soon  ceased  to  exist,  and  Chi  Theta,  formed  at  Princeton  in  1824,  was  sup- 
pressed. The  first  society  to  put  into  practice  the  usages  characteristic  of 
the  modern  fraternity  was  Kappa  Alpha,  founded  at  Union  College  in  1825. 
This  was  followed  in  1827  by  Delta  Phi  and  Sigma  Phi,  also  founded  at 
Union  College.  Sigma  Phi  estabHshed  a  branch  at  Hamilton  College  in  183 1, 
being  thus  the  first  fraternity  to  adopt  this  method  of  growth.  Through  imi- 
tation or  antagonism.  Alpha  Delta  Phi  was  organized  at  Hamilton  College  the 
following  year.  In  opposition  to  the  secret  character  of  these,  Delta  Upsilon 
was  founded  at  WilUams  College  in  1834,  not  merely  as  non-secret  but  as  anti- 
secret.  Beta  Theta  Pi  was  organized  at  Miami  University  in  1839  and  Chi 
Psi  at  Union  College  in  184 1.  Up  to  this  time  ten  fraternities  had  been 
formed,  including  something  over  thirty  chapters.  Each  of  these  had  an 
elaborate  constitution  with  its  preamble,  its  definition  of  the  object  of  the 


26  THE  YOUNG  PEOPLE'S  MOVEMENT 

society,  and  its  statement  of  name  and  motto,  of  conditions  and  degrees  of 
membership,  of  form  of  government,  of  duties  of  officers,  of  relations  of  the 
chapters,  and  of  the  oath  of  membership.  The  causes  of  their  founding  may 
be  reduced  to  four:  friendship,  the  promotion  of  a  common  object,  imitation, 
or  antagonism.  They  constitute  a  very  significant  part  of  that  organization  of 
yoimg  people  whose  development  we  are  tracing.' 

»  Baird,  American  College  Fraternities  (ist  ed.,  1879;  6th  ed.,  1905). 


CHAPTER  III 
THE  PERIOD  OF  DISCOVERY   (1844-1860) 

We  call  the  years  from  1844  to  i860  the  period  of  discovery 
because  in  these  years  there  came  to  clear  consciousness  the  fact 
that  young  men  constitute  a  class  by  themselves.  The  year  1844 
marks  the  organization  of  the  Y.M.C.A.  The  year  i860  witnessed 
two  important  events.  The  great  laymen's  revival,  beginning  in 
1857  in  New  York,  under  the  direction  of  Y.M.C.A.  men,  had  by 
this  time  run  its  course.  Secondly,  the  organization  about  this 
time  of  a  young  people's  soc)  fy  in  a  Brooklyn  church  which  changed 
the  watchword  of  the  Y.M.C.A.,  "Young  men  for  young  men," 
into  "Young  people  for  youig  people,"  marks  the  appropriation 
of  the  movement  by  the  church.  This  organization,  furthermore, 
constitutes  historically  the  link  binding  together  the  Y.M.C.A.  and 
the  Christian  Endeavor  society. 

The  various  forms  of  organization  which,  in  the  previous  chapter, 
we  saw  getting  under  way  continued  their  development  during 
these  years.  The  high-class  musical  clubs  present  not  a  little  that 
is  important  for  this  period,  but  practically  no  new  features. 
Choral  and  philharmonic  societies  continued  to  multiply  and  to 
perform  difficult  musical  compositions  with  increasing  skill.  The 
singing-school  became  more  widespread  and  popular,  and — what 
is  perhaps  more  significant— other  organizations  adopted  the  musi- 
cal gild  and  adapted  it  to  their  own  ends.  The  Sunday-school 
societies  published  many  musical  books.  When  John  B.  Gough 
visited  London  in  1853,  "the  united  choirs  of  the  temperance  sing- 
ing societies  of  the  metropolis  "  sat  on  the  platform.^  The  churches 
used  the  choir  more  and  more,  and  this  was  usually  composed  of 
mixed  voices. 

The  adult  Sunday-school  classes  had  a  much  more  significant 
development  in  England  than  in  America  during  this  period.  In 
the  United  States  the  movement  lagged,  largely  because  there  was 
not  the  need  of  teaching  adults  to  read  that  existed  in  England, 

'  Couling,  History  of  the  Temperance  Movement,  p.  219. 

27 


28  THE   YOUNG  PEOPLE'S   MOVEMENT 

and  because  the  new  conception  of  the  Sunday  school  as  a  place 
for  Bible  study  was  only  slowly  gaining  ground. 

Among  the  temperance  societies  the  most  striking  event  was 
the  new  place  accorded  women.  Temperance  societies  of  women 
alone  and  of  men  alone  had  been  in  existence  from  the  start. 
In  1850,  the  temperance  societies  had  been  petitioned  to  open  their 
membership  to  women.  When  the  refusal  became  definite,  the 
Independent  Order  of  Good  Templars,  a  non-beneficiary  organiza- 
tion, was  instituted,  in  which  women  were  accepted  on  the  same 
terms  as  men.  The  new  order  grew  at  a  marvelous  rate.  In  1855, 
there  were  ten  state  organizations  and  a  Right  Worthy  Grand 
Lodge.^  Of  purely  feminine  organizations,  several  had  their 
beginnings  in  this  period  or  earlier,  but  attained  their  important 
development  later,  and  will  be  considered  in  connection  with  their 
period. 

The  outstanding  event  of  these  years  was  the  organization  and 
I  development  of  the  Y.M.C.A.  In  order  to  understand  its  signifi- 
j  cance  we  must  give  some  account  of  the  English  and  German 
associations. 

The  salient  figure  is  that  of  George  Williams,  who  founded  the 
London  Association  and  gave  it  its  distinctive  character.  At  the 
age  of  fifteen  he  had  been  apprenticed  to  a  draper  in  Bridgewater. 
Largely  through  the  influence  of  two  or  three  companions,  he  was 
converted.  This  group  began  to  hold  prayer-meetings  and  do 
personal  work  for  the  conversion  of  their  fellow-employees,  with 
much  success.  In  1841,  Williams  entered  the  drapery  house 
of  George  Hitchcock  &  Sons,  London.  Fortunately,  he  came 
in  close  contact  with  a  young  man  of  earnest  religious  convictions, 
and  together  they  started  a  prayer-meeting.  Bible  classes  were 
held,  a  mutual  improvement  society  formed,  and  a  foreign  mission 
society  organized  in  which  each  member  pledged  a  penny  a  week, 
collected  weekly  by  Williams.  By  1844,  a  new  respect  for  religion 
had  come  to  the  establishment,  the  proprietor  himself  had  been 
converted,  a  similar  prayer-meeting  had  been  set  up  in  another 
establishment,  and  on  May  31,  1844,  twelve  young  men  constituted 
the  original  Y.M.C.A.     Williams  had  been  profoundly  influenced 

'  Daniels,  The  Temperance  Reformation,  pp.  196  ff. 


THE  PERIOD   OF  DISCOVERY  29 

by  Finney's  Revival  Lectures,  and  the  evangelistic  passion  dominated 

him.     Every  new  convert  was  given  Finney  to  read,  and  so  was 

led   into   personal   evangehstic   work.     Consequently,   when    the 

Y.M.C.A.  was  organized,  its  object  was  stated  to  be  "  the  improve-     1 

ment  of  the  spiritual  condition  of  young  men  engaged  in  the  drapery 

and  other  trades."     Membership  was  open  to  any  young  man  who 

was  "a  member  of  a  Christian  church,"  or  who  gave  "sufficient 

evidence  of  his  being  a  converted  character."     The  following  year 

the  statement  of  aim  and  the  basis  of  membership  were  both  altered. 

The  aim  was  declared  to  be  "the  improvement  of  the  spiritual  and 

mental  condition  of  young  men,"  and  membership  was  open  only 

to  those  "apphcants  that  give  credible  evidence  of  conversion." 

The  membership  fee  was  sixpence  and  the  dues  sixpence  a  quarter. 

In  1849,  provision  was  made  for  associate  membership,  the  report 

for  that  year  containing  the  following  sentence: 

Without  in  the  slightest  degree  impairing  the  distinctive  character  and 
design  of  membership  in  the  Association,  of  the  value  of  which  every  year 
has  brought  additional  proof,  many  young  men  of  good  moral  character  may 
be  provided  for  by  the  society,  under  the  simple  plan  of  a  money  subscription, 
and  by  this  means  in  widening  our  sphere  of  influence  we  will  be  fulfilling  our 
mission,  and  by  God's  help  promoting  more  largely  the  spiritual  improvement 
of  young  men. 

From  the  first  the  committee  of  management  consisted  only  of 
converted  men. 

The  Association  grew  rapidly.  In  five  months  there  were  70 
members,  and  14  houses  were  represented.  The  West  End  branch 
was  started  in  1845  with  50  members.  In  this  year  a  paid  mission- 
ary was  employed,  and  as  a  consequence  we  find  in  November, 
1846,  6  Associations  in  London,  and  organizations  begun  in  Man- 
chester, Leeds,  Liverpool,  Taunton,  and  Exeter.  By  1855,  there 
were  in  Great  Britain  47  Associations  with  8,500  members.  It  is 
not  to  be  supposed  that  these  Associations  were  uniformly  success- 
ful. The  Manchester  branch,  for  instance,  was  started  five  times 
before  it  was  finally  established.  But  on  the  whole  the  growth 
was  continuous.  This  was  due,  in  part,  to  the  comprehensive  \  / 
nature  of  the  organization,  for  it  included  by  this  time  not  only 
evangelistic  meetings  and  Bible  classes,  but  libraries,  reading- 
rooms,  lecture-courses,  and  secular  classes;  in  part,  to  the  zealous 


30  THE   YOUNG  PEOPLE'S   MOVEMENT 

support,  both  personal  and  financial,  of  George  Hitchcock;  but 
largely,  to  the  enthusiastic  leadership  and  evangelistic  interest  of 
WilHams  and  his  friends,  and  to  the  fact  that  each  new  convert 
at  once  became  an  Andrew  seeking  Peter. 

For  the  roots  of  the  German  Junglingsvereine,  we  must  go  to 
Halle,  where,  in  i7i5-i6,Zinzendorf  formed  a  "Senf'Korn  Orden," 
whose  rules  are  still  extant,  "to  follow  Christ  in  walk  and  conversa- 
tion, to  love  your  neighbor,  and  strive  for  the  conversion  of  Jews 
and  heathen."  At  Basel,  in  1758,  Pastor  Mayenrock  established  an 
association  of  young  men  in  his  congregation.  They  pledged  them- 
selves to  five  things:  (i)  to  abide  strictly  by  the  teaching  of  the  Word 
of  God  and  the  apostolic  faith;  (2)  to  shun  all  sectarianism  and  any- 
thing that  might  seduce  to  it;  (3)  to  be  true  toward  God,  oneself, 
and  all  men;  (4)  to  have  the  privilege,  to  be  even  under  the  obliga- 
tion, of  reproving  and  reminding  the  others  of  their  faults;  (5)  to 
take  care  never  to  tell  evil  stories  about  the  others,  that  good-will 
toward  one  another  might  be  strengthened.  With  the  exception  of 
a  few  years  between  1820  and  1825,  this  society's  existence  was 
continuous.  It  began  to  be  influential  outside  its  own  circle  in 
1833,  when  Dr.  Frederick  Mallet  of  Bremen  made  a  visit  to  Switzer- 
land, and  on  his  return  organized  the  first  Junglingsverein.  His 
statement,  which  is  still  used  in  West  Germany,  is  as  follows:  It 
shall  be  the  object  of  this  association — 

(i)  To  foster  under  the  direction  and  influence  of  the  Word  of  God  Chris- 
tian sentiments  and  godly  conduct  among  our  young  men;  (2)  to  oppose  as 
much  as  possible  all  the  perils  which  beset  young  men  through  the  temptations 
of  the  world,  particularly  through  the  beer-halls;  (3)  to  unite  young  men  in 
Christian  union  and  fellowship;  (4)  through  the  increase  of  their  knowledge 
to  enable  them  to  be  more  skilful  in  their  daily  work;  (5)  to  serve  sick  and 
destitute  young  men  by  relief  and  attendance. 

The  president  of  the  organization  was  usually  a  pastor.  The 
managing  committee  was  chosen  from  the  membership,  which  in- 
cluded all  the  young  men  of  the  parish  who  desired  to  unite  with  the 
society.  This  society  spread  to  Barmen  in  1836,  to  Elberfeld  in 
1838,  to  Karlsruhe  in  1839,  to  Ronsdorf  in  1842.  In  1844,  there 
were  10  Vereine  in  existence.  Homes  were  established  for  young 
apprentices,  where  social  Hfe,  intellectual  training,  and  reHgious 
culture  were  provided  in  the  form  of  Bible  study,  lectures,  singing 


THE    PERIOD  OF  DISCOVERY  3 1 

and  other  classes,  and  warm  Christian  friendship.  Nine  of  these 
associations  in  1848  formed  the  Rhenish-Westphahan  AlHance  of 
Young  Men's  Associations.  In  1855,  there  were  in  Germany  130 
associations  with  6,000  members. 

In  giving  the  place  of  priority  to  the  English  movement,  we 
appear  to  be  departing  from  historical  accuracy,  for  in  point  of  time 
these  German  societies  were  earlier.  But  it  was  the  English  Asso- 
ciations which  not  only  supplied  the  name  under  which  the  move- 
ment was  destined  to  spread  over  the  earth,  but  which  also  furnished 
the  distinctive  character  and  spiritual  dynamic. 

The  American  movement  arose  directly  from  the  English. 
Before  it  came  across  the  Atlantic  there  were  not  a  few  young  men's 
clubs  and  societies,  but  these  had  not  possessed  the  power  of  self- 
propagation.  There  was,  however,  one  society  which  influenced 
the  larger  movement.  A  Young  Men's  Society  of  Christian  Inquiry 
had  been  formed  in  Cincinnati  in  1848  "for  the  purpose  of  culti- 
vating Christian  intercourse;  of  assisting  each  other  in  growth  in 
grace  and  knowledge;  and  especially  of  enlarging  their  acquaintance 
with  rehgious  movements  of  their  own  country  and  of  the  world, 
and  fitting  themselves  for  more  extended  usefulness  in  the  service 
of  the  divine  Redeemer."  This  society  took  young  men  and  the 
children  of  the  poor  as  its  especial  field.  To  reach  the  former, 
furnished  rooms  were  opened  with  Hbrary,  reading-room,  and 
parlors,  and  semi-monthly  meetings  of  a  rehgious  and  social  char- 
acter were  held.  To  reach  the  latter,  seven  Sunday  schools, 
officered  and  taught  by  members  of  the  society,  were  started  in  the 
poorer  quarters  of  the  city. 

The  story  of  the  Boston  Y.M.C.A.  is  most  significant,  for  it 
not  only  propagated  itself  widely  but  largely  determined  the 
character  of  the  organization  in  America.  The  Watchman  and 
Reflector  for  October  30,  185 1,  pruited  a  letter  from  London,  written 
by  George  M.  Vanderlip,  describing  the  original  Y.M.C.A.  A 
group  of  men  who  had  been  concerned  about  the  young  men 
of  Boston,  particularly  those  who  had  come  to  the  city  to 
work,  and  consequently  had  no  homes  of  their  own,  found  in 
this  institution  the  solution  of  their  problem.  The  first  question 
of  detail  had  reference  to  the  membership,  and,  although  the 


At- 


/ 


32  THE   YOUNG  PEOPLE'S  MOVEMENT 

Unitarians  and  Universalists  were  eager  to  help,  their  assistance 
was  declined,  and  active  membership,  with  the  privilege  of  voting 
and  holding  office,  was  limited  to  members  "in  regular  standing 
of  an  evangelical  church."  All  other  privileges  were  open  to 
"young  men  of  good  moral  character"  upon  payment  of  one  dollar 
aimually.  The  management  was  vested  in  a  small  board  of  evan- 
gelical Christians,  elected  by  the  active  members.  From  the  start 
the  Association  worked  through  committees,  "which  came  to  be 
characteristic  of  the  American  work." 

The  Association  sought  to  help  any  young  man  who  needed  a 
service  which  it  could  render,  and  tried  especially  to  reach  him  on 
the  social  side ;  but  its  emphasis  was  on  the  religious  aspect  of  the 
work.  From  the  start  a  young  men's  prayer-meeting  was  held 
one  evening  a  week.  In  the  second  year  a  Saturday  night  Bible 
class  was  begun,  with  an  attendance  of  136,  which  speedily  reached 
an  average  between  twenty  and  thirty.  Its  character  quickly 
became  established  as  a  training  school  for  Christian  young  men, 
and  especially  for  Sunday-school  teachers.  The  evangelical 
ministers  found  the  Association  a  convenient  place  for  holding 
meetings  of  all  sorts,  and  it  was  soon  the  religious  exchange  for  the 
city. 

One  particular  feature  was  the  extensive  use  made  of  the  press 
and  post.  In  January,  1852,  a  circular  announcing  the  purpose  of 
the  organization  was  distributed  widely.  Copies  of  the  constitu- 
tion and  of  the  first  address  before  the  Association  were  sent  to 
every  pastor  and  many  hundreds  of  other  Christian  men  in  New 
England.  A  large  correspondence  was  carried  on  with  reference 
to  young  men  coming  to  live  in  Boston.  As  a  consequence,  Asso- 
ciations multiplied.  At  the  close  of  1853,  there  were  27  Associations 
in  North  America. 

In  1854,  thirty-seven  delegates  from  19  Associations  met  in 
Buffalo  to  take  under  consideration  the  organization  of  an  American 
federation.  Boston,  New  York,  Brooklyn,  and  Baltimore,  whose 
membership  formed  one-half  of  the  total,  declined  to  unite,  the 
New  York  Association  specifying  its  objections  to  conventions  and 
a  federation.  They  give  classic  expression  to  arguments  that 
constantly  recur  in  succeeding  years,  and  in  other  organizations: 


THE  PERIOD   OF  DISCOVERY  33 

We  believe  conventions  draw  off  attention  from  local  work,  and  our  insti- 
tution is  essentially  local. 

We  believe  they  foster  a  centralizing  spirit  at  war  with  independent  action. 

We  believe  they  will  produce  unpleasant  scenes,  and  rupture  upon  such 
subjects  as  slaves. 

We  believe  the  expense  unauthorized  by  our  main  object. 

We  believe  fraternal  feelings  between  the  associations  may  be  better 
cultivated  by  correspondence  and  chance  visits. 

In  spite  of  these  obstacles  the  federation  was  formed,  chiefly 
through  the  efforts  of  WilHam  Chauncey  Langdon  of  Washington. 
A  Central  Committee  of  eleven  members  was  formed  to  plan  the 
annual  conventions;  "to  maintain  correspondence  with  American 
and  foreign  kindred  bodies,  promote  the  formation  of  new  asso- 
ciations, collect  and  diffuse  appropriate  information,  and  from  time 
to  time  recommend  to  the  Associations  such  measures  as  may  seem 
calculated  to  promote  the  general  object";  but  it  might  not  " com- 
mit any  local  association  to  any  proposed  plan  of  action,  nor 
assess  any  pecuniary  rate  upon  them  without  their  consent."  Mr. 
Langdon  was  made  secretary  to  the  committee. 

At  the  instance  of  the  Cincinnati  society  already  mentioned, 
now  a  Y.M.C.A.,  mission  Sunday-school  work  and  especially 
classes  of  young  men  were  adopted  as  a  proper  objective.  It  was 
discovered  that  not  all  Associations  were  organized  on  the  Boston 
basis  of  membership,  and  resolutions  were  passed  strongly  com- 
mending that  plan,  but  not  insisting  upon  it  as  essential  to  member- 
ship in  the  federation. 

Thus  the  end  of  1854  saw  the  British  branches  in  intimate 
relations  with  the  first  Association,  and  the  German  and  American 
groups  organized.  The  way  was  open  for  an  organization  that 
would  unite  them  all.  The  Evangehcal  Alliance  was  meeting  in 
Paris  in  1855,  and  many  Y.M.C.A.  leaders  would  be  in  attendance. 
A  call  was  issued  to  Associations  in  Great  Britain,  America,  and 
on  the  continent  to  come  together  for  the  purpose  of  organizing 
a  world-federation,  which  was  duly  formed  on  the  so-called  "Paris 
basis":  "The  Young  Men's  Christian  Associations  seek  to  unite 
those  young  men,  who,  regarding  Jesus  Christ  as  their  God  and 
Savior  according  to  the  Holy  Scriptures,  desire  to  be  his  disciples 


34  THE   YOUNG  PEOPLE'S  MOVEMENT 

in  their  doctrine  and  in  their  life,  and  to  associate  their  efforts  for 
the  extension  of  his  kingdom  among  young  men." 

This  has  proved  to  be  an  exceedingly  important  declaration. 
It  proposed  three  requirements  for  membership,  viz.,  an  evangelical 
creed,  personal  piety,  and  evangelistic  enthusiasm.  It  asserted 
further  the  value  of  organized  endeavor,  and  defined  the  sphere 
within  which  the  Association  should  work,  viz.,  for  young  men. 
Although  moved  by  Frederick  Monnier  of  Strasburg,  it  represented 
the  actual  practice  of  the  British  group  only,  as  a  group.  The 
German  associations  were  open  to  all  young  men  in  a  parish,  on 
the  supposition  that  they  were  evangelical  in  theology  and  willing 
to  become  religious.  The  American  federation  had  not  deemed  it 
wise  generally  to  set  up  the  evangelical  test.  The  Boston  Asso- 
ciation did  not  confine  itself  to  young  men,  but  held  revival  services 
for  the  general  public,  and  the  Cincinnati  society  had  pledged  the 
American  federation  to  Sunday-school  work.  But  the  Paris  basis 
ultimately  prevailed  universally. 

Let  us  note  precisely  what  has  happened  in  this  period.  An 
organization  of  young  men  has  arisen  in  Germany,  Switzerland, 
France,  Holland,  Belgium,  Italy,  Great  Britain,  and  America;  it 
has  been  received  with  favor  by  a  large  proportion  of  the  most 
influential  members  of  the  Protestant  churches,  and  by  a  consider- 
able number  of  young  men  in  these  countries;  a  definite  field  of 
action  has  been  marked  off — the  winning  of  young  men  to  the 
religious  life;  the  fundamental  principle  of  service  has  been  deter- 
mined— the  winning  of  young  men  by  young  men ;  national  federa- 
tions have  been  formed;  a  world-organization  has  been  effected. 
In  a  word,  there  has  taken  place  the  discovery  of  young  men,  with 
their  needs  and  possibilities;  of  a  great  and  worthy  cause  to  which 
to  invite  their  allegiance;  and  of  the  fundamental  principles  and 
methods  by  which  the  work  is  to  be  done. 

In  America  this  recognition  was  emphasized  by  the  laymen's 
revival  that  swept  over  the  land  in  the  years  1857  to  1859  or  i860. 
A  group  of  Y.M.C.A.  men,  mostly  members  of  the  Dutch  Reformed 
Church,  in  1856  began  noon  prayer-meetings  for  men  in  the  Fulton 
Street  Church  in  New  York.  In  1857  these  were  turned  over  to 
Joseph  C.  Lamphier,  lay  city  missionary  of  the  Dutch  Reformed 


THE   PERIOD   OF   DISCOVERY  35 

Church.  The  country  was  in  the  grip  of  a  financial  panic.  On 
September  23,  1857,  the  noon  prayer-meeting  was  widely  advertised 
and  met  with  an  unexpected  response.  The  attendance  grew 
rapidly  from  day  to  day.  The  revival  spread  over  the  land,  being 
particularly  under  the  direction  of  the  Associations.  Converts 
were  finally  numbered  by  the  hundred  thousands.  When  the 
revival  was  over,  the  Y.M.C.A.  possessed  an  assured  status  and  a 
definite  significance  in  every  city  in  the  land. 

Note  i. — The  Boston  Young  Men's  Christian  Union. — Originating  earlier 
than  the  Boston  Y.M.C.A.  and  parallel  to  it,  is  the  Boston  Y.M.C.U.  It  was 
organized  September  17,  1851,  as  the  Biblical  Literature  Association.  When 
the  Unitarians  were  excluded  from  the  Y.M.C.A.,  this  B.L.A.  became  the 
Y.M.C.U.  and  was  incorporated  in  1852.  Its  objects  were:  "To  furnish  the 
young  men  of  Boston  and  vicinity  a  place  of  pleasant  resort  where  the  influences 
are  beneficial  and  elevating,  to  provide  them  with  opportunity  of  self- 
improvement  and  healthful  recreation,  at  little  or  no  expense;  to  give  them 
opportunities  for  doing  good,  by  engaging  in  charitable  and  benevolent  work." 
The  article  on  membership  reads:  "All  young  men  of  good  moral  character, 
and  claiming  to  believe  in  the  truths  of  Christianity,  without  distinction  of 
sect  or  party,  shall  be  eligible  as  members  of  this  society."  The  Union  was 
temporarily  discontinued  in  1863  on  account  of  the  war,  which  had  so  injurious 
an  effect  upon  religious  work  generally.  Reorganization  was  effected  April  15, 
1868.  A  new  building  was  dedicated  March  15,  1876,  and  an  addition  buUt 
in  1883.  The  report  of  1871  shows  the  Union  organized,  with  committees 
as  follows:  finance;  lectures,  classes,  and  entertainments;  library;  rooms; 
members;  benevolent  action;  public  worship  and  religious  study.  Sunday 
religious  services  were  maintained,  seats  in  churches  furnished  to  young 
men,  teachers  supplied  for  Sunday  schools  and  missions,  boarding-places 
recommended,  employment  secured,  savings  deposited,  and  practical  benevo- 
lent work  engaged  in.  In  1875,  there  were  classes  in  book-keeping,  German, 
French,  parliamentary  law,  vocal  music,  astronomy,  elocution,  and  Shake- 
speare; monthly  socials  were  held,  at  which  many  of  Boston's  most  cultured 
women  were  present ;  and  a  Christmas  and  New  Year's  festival  was  given  to 
poor  children.  In  1895,  we  note,  2,318  children  and  267  adults  were  sent  to 
the  country  for  short  periods,  and  carriage  and  other  drives  for  shut-ins  and 
convalescents  to  the  number  of  8,070  provided.  The  report  for  1900  showed 
that  the  secular  classes  had  grown  in  variety  and  attendance,  that  the 
library  had  15,000  volumes,  that  the  membership  was  5,554,  that  religious 
services  had  been  held  every  Sunday  except  during  July  and  August,  and 
that  over  $18,000  had  been  expended  in  drives,  bay  trips,  and  country  visits 
for  the  poor. 


36  THE  YOUNG  PEOPLE'S  MOVEMENT 

Note.  2. — The  growth  of  colleges  from  1844  to  i<?<5o.— Attention  should  be 
called  to  the  fact  of  the  great  outburst  of  college  building  in  this  period.  From 
1840  to  1850  there  were  nearly  forty  colleges  founded  in  the  United  States, 
and  between  1850  and  i860  over  seventy-five.  There  was  also  a  great  develop- 
ment of  the  existing  Greek-letter  fraternities,  and  the  organization  and  growth 
of  many  new  ones.  These  facts  are  important  as  indicating  that  the  young 
people's  movement  was  general,  and  not  restricted  to  the  moral  and  religious 
spheres. 


CHAPTER  IV 
THE  PERIOD  OF  EXPANSION   (i  860-1881) 

An  incident  highly  characteristic  of  this  period  and  of  great 
historical  importance  was  the  organization  in  i860,  by  Dr.  Theodore 
Cuyler,  of  a  young  people's  prayer-meeting  in  the  Lafayette  Avenue 
Presbyterian  Church  in  Brooklyn.  In  his  own  story  he  states 
that  the  success  of  the  Y.M.C.A.  on  a  purely  religious  basis  led  to 
the  organization  of  young  people  in  individual  churches. 

It  had  been  common  to  hold  young  men's  prayer-meetings  in  many 
churches;  but  beyond  this  very  little  had  been  done  to  combine  the  youth 
of  the  church  for  Christian  work.  For  example,  the  young  people — of  both 
sexes — held  a  large  weekly  prayer-meeting  in  the  various  houses  of  my  Market 
Street  congregation  in  New  York.  It  was  a  powerful  agency,  especially  during 
seasons  of  revival.  After  I  removed  to  Brooklyn,  as  the  first  pastor  of  the 
Lafayette  Avenue  Presbyterian  Church,  a  similar  meeting  was  established  on 
the  24th  of  September,  i860.  Forty  persons  were  present.  Out  of  this 
weekly  prayer-meeting  sprang  the  Young  People's  Association  which  had  such 
an  important  influence  on  the  establishment  of  societies  of  Christian  Endeavor. 

The  Y.P.A.  of  the  Lafayette  Avenue  Church  was  organized  on  the  evening 
of  November  6th,  1867,  and  fifty-four  persons  signed  its  constitution.  For 
nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century  it  has  been  doing  its  blessed  work,  and  many 

associations  of  a  similar  kind  were  copied  after  it '  The  great  purpose 

of  the  society  was  the  conversion  of  souls,  the  development  of  Christian  char- 
acter and  the  training  of  new  converts  in  religious  work.  The  social  element 
was  not  overlooked;  and  accordingly  a  half-hour  was  spent  at  the  close  of 
each  weekly  meeting  in  friendly  intercourse.     A  committee  on  entertainments 

also  provides  for  a  large  monthly  gathering The  most  important 

committee  is  the  devotional  committee,  and  the  interest  of  the  society  centers 
in  the  weekly  devotional  meeting.  That  lasts  just  one  hour,  and  is  led  by  the 
members  in  rotation.    [There  is  also  a  visiting  and  a  temperance  committee.] 

Several  years  ago,  an  account  of  this  vigorous  association  fell  imder  the 
eye  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  F.  E.  Clark,  who  was  then  the  pastor  of  a  church  in  Maine. 
He  came  to  our  church  and  learned  more  of  the  work  carried  on  by  our  young 
people.  Last  winter  Dr.  Clark  addressed  a  letter  to  their  secretary  in  which  he 
said:  "I  had  heard  of  the  Lafayette  Avenue  Church  Young  People's  Association, 
and  had  read  an  account  by  Dr.  Cuyler  in  regard  to  it,  which  led  me  to  believe 
that  a  Yovmg  People's  Society  might  be  made  to  do  efficient  work  for  the  church 

'  It  found  its  way  by  the  score  into  all  the  principal  denominations. 

37 


38  THE  YOUNG  PEOPLE'S  MOVEMENT 

with  which  it  was  connected:  an  experience  which  had  not  been  true  of  many 
such  societies  with  which  I  had  been  acquainted.  That  thought  was  certainly 
an  inspiration  to  the  first  Christian  Endeavor  Society."^ 

Here  then  is  the  pivotal  point  in  the  appropriation  of  the  young 
people's  movement  by  the  church.  The  purely  religious  foundation 
of  the  successful  Y.M.C.A.,  with  its  watchword,  "Young  men 
for  young  men,"  led  to  the  Young  People's  Association,  with  its 
devotional  meeting  as  its  central  function,  with  its  constitution, 
committee  work,  and  social  functions,  and  its  watchword,  "Young 
people  for  young  people."  This  society  became  the  starting-point 
for  many  Young  People's  Associations  all  over  the  country,  and  in 
particular  led  Dr.  Clark,  founder  of  the  Christian  Endeavor  move- 
ment, "to  believe  that  a  Young  People's  Society  might  be  made  to 
do  efl&cient  work  for  the  church  with  which  it  was  connected." 
As  we  shall  see,  the  Christian  Endeavor  Society  was  modeled  closely 
after  this  society.  The  Christian  Endeavor  Society  in  its  turn 
was  the  signal  for  the  phenomenal  growth  of  young  people's 
societies  of  the  same  nature  which  has  taken  place  since  1881. 

With  this  line  of  advance  clearly  before  us,  we  shall  proceed 
to  notice  somewhat  in  detail  the  development  of  the  characteristic 
features  of  the  period. 

A  significant  action  in  America,  with  which  the  evangelical 
churches  of  Great  Britain  and  Germany  were  fully  in  accord,  was 
the  drawing  more  closely  of  the  lines  of  division  between  the  con- 
servative and  liberal  churches.  We  have  noted  that  the  Boston 
Y.M.C.A.  had  excluded  the  Unitarians  and  Universalists  from  its 
active  membership,  and  that  the  Buffalo  conference  had  left  the 
matter  open.  The  convention  of  1868  limited  active  membership 
to  "members  of  churches  held  to  be  evangelical."  A  curious  appli- 
cation of  this  rule  led  to  the  refusal  of  membership  to  a  Quaker,  on 
the  ground  that  he  was  not  a  communicant.^  The  Portland,  Maine, 
convention  of  1869  defined  "  evangelical "  in  the  following  resolution: 

We  hold  those  churches  to  be  evangelical,  which,  maintaining  the  Holy 
Scriptures  to  be  the  only  infallible  rule  of  faith  and  practice,  do  believe  in  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  (the  only-begotten  son  of  the  Father,  King  of  Kings  and 

■  The  Independent,  July  7,  1892,  p.  930. 
"  Christian  Union,  March  26,  1873,  P-  252. 


THE   PERIOD   OF   EXPANSION  39 

Lord  of  Lords,  in  whom  dwelleth  the  fulness  of  the  Godhead  bodily,  and  who 
was  made  sin  for  us  though  knowing  no  sin,  bearing  our  sins  in  His  own  body 
on  the  tree)  as  the  only  name  under  heaven  given  among  men  whereby  we 
must  be  saved  from  everlasting  punishment. 

The  passage  of  this  resolution  has  had  profound  practical  results, 
for  it  gave  the  evangelical  churches  faith  in  the  Y.M.C.A.,  and  their 
unstinted  financial  support  dates  from  that  hour. 

The  great  expansion  of  Christian  work  among  young  men  is 
seen  in  the  continued  numerical  growth  of  young  men's  societies, 
in  the  extension  of  their  sphere  of  work,  and  in  the  arising  of  new 
organizations.  The  development  of  the  Y.M.C.A.  illustrates  this. 
The  war  period  caused  a  temporary  setback,  but  the  Y.M.C.A. 
utilized  this  time  in  the  splendid  work  of  the  United  States  Christian 
Commission  among  the  soldiers,  which  obtained  the  enthusiastic 
support  of  all  classes  of  the  population.  The  Association  has  ever 
since  continued  its  work  among  soldiers,  and  has  added  to  it  work 
among  the  United  States  sailors.  The  work  among  railroad  men 
began  in  Cleveland,  in  1870,  with  religious  services,  and  soon 
commanded  the  interest  of  the  railroad  officials.  The  New  York 
Central  Railroad  adopted  the  Railroad  Y.M.C.A.  in  1875,  and  thus 
began  that  long  list  of  gifts  of  corporations  to  a  religious  association, 
not  on  account  of  its  religious  value,  but  because  *'it  means  sober 
employees,  safety  for  travelers,  reliable  engineers  and  brakemen, 
polite  conductors,  security  against  unwarranted  strikes,  and  the 
comparatively  speedy  ending  of  strikes."  The  Y.M.C.A.  first 
reached  the,  colored  men  at  Fisk  University  in  1870,  and  speedily 
spread  to  them  in  the  cities,  so  that  in  1879  a  colored  secretary  was 
employed.  The  rural  work  began  in  1872,  when  Robert  Weidensall 
organized  a  rural  Y.M.C.A.  in  Dupage  County,  Illinois.  The 
next  year  a  business  man  in  Mason  County,  Illinois,  undertook 
the  voluntary  supervision  of  Y.M.C.A.  work  in  seven  or  eight 
small  communities,  and  demonstrated  its  practicability  and  value. 
The  development  of  this  is,  however,  very  recent.  The  most  far- 
reaching  of  these  extensions  has  been  work  among  students. 
Sporadic  associations  had  sprung  up  very  early — one  at  the  Uni- 
versity of  Virginia  in  1857,  and  one  at  Michigan  in  1858.  In  1876, 
there  were  25  college  associations,  with  2,500  members,  and  these 


40  THE  YOUNG  PEOPLE'S  MOVEMENT 

students  were  invited  to  attend  the  international  Y.M.C.A.  con- 
ventions. This  expansion  of  the  Association  marks  the  rising  tide 
of  the  church's  interest  in  young  men. 

The  years  1850  to  1890  mark  the  period  of  greatest  activity  in 
the  founding  of  colleges  in  the  United  States.  Of  existing  colleges, 
76  were  founded  from  1850  to  i860;  77  from  i860  to  1870  (mostly 
in  the  second  half  of  the  decade);  63  from  1870  to  1880;  and  78' 
from  1880  to  1890.  These  institutions  were  largely  denominational 
and  for  men,  though  women  have  increasingly  been  admitted. 

In  this  period,  the  development  of  certain  organizations  indi- 
cates the  "discovery"  of  young  women.  Rousseau's  ideally 
educated  girl  was  to  be  trained,  quite  in  opposition  to  Rousseau's 
own  principles,  for  the  sake  of  Emile.  The  conception  was  still 
dominant  at  this  time,  but  from  1870  onward  women  have  been 
increasingly  regarded  as  entitled  to  consideration  for  their  own 
sakes.  We  shall  touch  upon  four  of  the  indications  of  the  changing 
attitude. 

The  modern  deaconess  movement  goes  back  to  1575,  when  a 
church  at  Wesel,  Germany,  employed  women  with  this  title.  In 
1820,  Pastor  Friedrich  Kloenne  published  On  the  Revival  of  the 
Deaconesses  of  the  Ancient  Church  in  Our  Ladies^  Societies.  In 
1833,  Pastor  Fhedner,  of  Kaiserswerth,  Germany,  assumed  the  re- 
sponsibility of  caring  for  a  female  ex-convict  who  had  nowhere  to  go. 
Other  needy  women  came  to  him,  until  it  became  necessary  to  secure 
a  superintendent  and  assistants.  These  he  called  deaconesses. 
The  Kaiserswerth  institutions  grew  until  they  included  the  means 
of  caring  for  the  ex-convict,  for  the  feeble-minded,  the  aged,  the 
wayward,  the  sick,  for  children,  and  for  infirm  deaconesses.  The 
expansion  abroad  was  equally  great.  Hospitals  were  open  in  Jeru- 
salem (1851),  Constantinople  (1852),  Smyrna  (1853),  Alexandria 
(1857),  Florence  (i860),  and  so  on.  Daughter-institutions  were 
established  in  Paris  (1841),  Berne  (1845),  London  (1846),  Stock- 
holm (1849),  St.  Petersburg  (1859),  Copenhagen  (1863).  Pastor 
Fliedner  brought  four  deaconesses  to  the  United  States  in  1849 
to  establish  a  Lutheran  hospital  in  Pittsburgh.  The  enterprise 
did  not  succeed.^ 

'Wheeler,  Deaconesses,  Ancient  and  Modern  (Hunt  &  Eaton,  1889). 


THE   PERIOD   OF   EXPANSION  4 1 

The  Episcopal  church  was  the  first  in  America  to  conduct  the 
work  successfully.  In  1864,  a  diocesan  deaconess'  institution  was 
founded  at  Mobile,  Alabama.  In  1872,  Bishop  Littlejohn  of  Long 
Island  consecrated  six  deaconesses  at  St.  Mary's  Church,  Brooklyn. 
There  were  sisterhoods  in  the  Episcopal  church  earlier  than  this, 
and  not  a  few  have  arisen  since,  springing  up  in  imitation  of  the 
Catholic  sisterhoods.  The  deaconesses,  though  wearing  a  uniform, 
living  in  a  common  house,  and  serving  without  remuneration, 
do  not  constitute  a  conventual  order,  but  may  resign  at  any 
time.  Their  work  consists  of  parish  work,  teaching,  or  the  care 
of  the  sick,  the  poor,  or  the  fallen. 

Of  recent  years  there  has  been  an  almost  universal  recognition 
of  the  deaconess,  as  indicated  by  the  great  increase  of  training 
schools  and  denominational  hospitals,  and  by  the  granting  of 
official  standing  in  the  churches.  For  our  purpose,  the  significance 
of  the  movement  is  twofold :  it  is  a  voluntary,  religious  organiza- 
tion of  Protestant  women,  mostly  young,  and  its  purpose  is  largely 
philanthropic  and  missionary. 

The  Women's  Christian  Temperance  Union,  which  shortly 
after  its  organization  set  itself  definitely  to  cultivate  young  women, 
and  which  for  some  years  has  had  a  young  women's  branch,  took 
its  origin  from  a  lyceum  lecture  given  by  Dr.  Dio  H.  Lewis  at 
Hillsboro,  Ohio,  December  23,  1873.  He  told  how,  forty  years 
before,  his  mother,  desperate  because  his  father  was  rapidly  becom- 
ing a  drunkard,  had  gathered  a  few  women  together,  and  how  they 
had  gone  to  the  saloon  to  hold  a  prayer-meeting  and  to  beseech  the 
dealer  to  quit  his  business.  The  story  aroused  the  women  of  Hills- 
boro, and  headed  by  the  most  prominent  women  in  the  town,  they 
did  likewise.  Like  wildfire  the  movement  spread  over  the  whole 
nation  and  for  months  every  paper  was  full  of  it.  In  order  to 
conserve  this  enthusiasm,  and  to  direct  it  most  efficiently,  a  group 
of  women,  gathered  in  a  Sunday-school  convention  at  Chautauqua 
in  August,  1874,  issued  a  call  for  organization.  As  a  result,  the 
W.C.T.U.  was  organized  at  Cleveland  in  November  of  that  year, 
with  six  departments — organization,  prevention,  education,  evan- 
gehstic,  social,  legal.  Sixteen  states  were  represented  in  1874,  and 
22  in  1875.    The  W.C.T.U.  spread  almost  as  fast  and  as  far  as  the 


42  THE   YOUNG  PEOPLE'S  MOVEMENT 

Woman's  Crusade,  and  the  foundation  was  laid  for  persistently- 
aggressive  work,  which  has  never  slackened  up  to  this  time.  The 
World's  W.C.T.U.  was  formed  in  1883,  and  in  191 1  embraced  52 
nations. 

The  Young  Women's  Christian  Association  gathers  up  this 
/  significant  trend  of  the  times.  The  American  and  British  branches 
seem  to  have  arisen  independently.  In  1855,  two  women  in  Eng- 
land perceived  that  something  more  should  be  done  for  young 
women.  Miss  Robarts  instituted  a  "prayer  union,"  banding  young 
women  together  for  prayer.  Lady  Kinnaird,  in  London,  seeing  the 
need  of  proper  housing  and  companionship  for  business  girls,  set 
herself  to  establish  suitable  Christian  homes  and  institutes  for  young 
women.  These  two  movements,  one  devotional  and  the  other 
philanthropic,  both  deeply  religious,  spread  throughout  the  United 
Kingdom  as  parallel  forces  until  1877,  when  a  union  of  forces  and 
methods  was  accomplished  under  the  name  of  the  Y.W.C.A. 

In  America,  Mrs.  Marshall  O.  Roberts  of  New  York  formed  the 
Union  Prayer  Circle  in  1858,  which  in  the  same  year  changed  its 
name  to  "The  Ladies'  Christian  Association  ....  to  labor  for 
the  temporal,  moral,  and  religious  welfare  of  young,  self-supporting 
women."  Eight  years  later,  the  name  was  changed  again  to  "The 
Ladies'  Christian  Union,"  and  a  charter  secured.  In  this  year, 
the  Boston  Y.W.C.A.  was  organized  on  the  model  of  the  Y.M.C.A. 
The  first  college  Association  was  a  prayer  group  at  Normal  Uni- 
versity, Normal,  Illinois,  formed  in  1872,  which  later  became  a 
Y.W.C.A.  Similar  groups  arose  in  other  cities  and  colleges,  and 
the  International  (United  States  and  Canada)  Board  of  Young 
Women's  Christian  Associations  was  formed  in  1887,  with  a  plan 
of  biennial  conventions.  In  1893,  college  and  city  associations  to 
the  number  of  300  were  reported  from  37  states  and  provinces,  and 
16  state  associations  had  been  organized.  This  number  had  grown 
in  191 1  to  196  city  and  667  student  Associations.  The  first  women's 
summer  conference  was  held  at  Northfield  in  1891,  and  now  ten 
of  these,  lasting  about  ten  days  each,  are  held  annually  in  different 
parts  of  the  country.  In  1906,  it  was  felt  that  the  United  States 
Associations  could  work  more  profitably  if  organized  by  them- 
selves, and  the  Y.W.C.A.  of  the  United  States  of  America  was 


THE   PERIOD   OF  EXPANSION  43 

formed  in  New  York.  A  training  school  for  secretaries  was 
opened  in  1908. 

The  first  world-gathering  took  place  in  London,  1892,  when 
representatives  were  present  from  America,  India,  and  several 
European  countries.  Two  years  later  the  World's  Y.W.C.A.  was 
organized,  with  a  plan  of  quadrennial  conferences.  The  students' 
branch  is  a  constituent  part  of  the  World's  Student  Christian 
Federation. 

It  was  in  this  period  that  the  colleges  opened  their  doors  to 
jvpmen.  A  women's  college  had  been  opened  by  Emma  Willard  at 
Waterford,  New  York,  in  182 1,  followed  by  similar  schools  at  Hart- 
ford, Connecticut,  in  1823,  under  the  supervision  of  Catherine 
Beecher,  and  at  Boston,  Massachusetts,  in  1829,  with  Jacob  Abbott 
as  principal.^  Mount  Holyoke,  proposed  in  1829  or  1830,  had  been 
established  in  1837,  and  Rockford  Seminary,  Rockford,  Illinois, 
in  1849,  but  Ehnira  College,  founded  at  ELmira,  New  York,  in 
1855,  was  the  first  women's  college  to  establish  standards  for 
women  similar  to  those  of  the  colleges  for  men.  Other  women's 
colleges  of  secondary  or  collegiate  grade  followed.  Among  the 
more  important  may  be  mentioned:  Vassar,  founded  in  1865; 
Wells,  at  Aurora,  New  York,  founded  in  1868;  Smith,  in  187 1 ;  and 
Wellesley,  in  1875.  Seven  Greek-letter  sororities  arose  between 
1870  and  1880.  Kappa  Alpha  Theta  was  organized  at  Asbury 
College,  and  Kappa  Kappa  Gamma  at  Monmouth,  in  1870;  Alpha 
Phi  at  Syracuse,  and  Delta  Gamma  at  Oxford,  in  1872;  Gamma 
Phi  Beta  at  Syracuse  in  1874;  Delta  Sigma  Rho  at  Northwestern 
in  1877;  and  Delta  Chi  Alpha  at  Ohio  Wesleyan  in  1878. 

The  strategic  and  social  values  of  sex  association  and  co- 
operation attained  large  recognition  in  this  period.  Along  with 
the  women's  college,  the  coeducational  institution  arose,  and  the 
many  colleges  for  men  admitted  women  on  equal  terms.  The 
mixed  society  is  the  favorite  in  the  churches.  The  one  temperance 
society  that  stood  for  the  equality  of  women  in  its  ranks  increased 
by  leaps  and  bounds.  The  Independent  Order  of  Good  Templars 
in  1875  numbered  400,000  members,  organized  in  6,000  subordinate 
and  45  grand  lodges,  and  at  that  time  had  spread  to  Great  Britain, 

'Abbott,  "Reminiscences,"  Outlook,  July  25,  1914,  p.  720. 


•V^i.^-^^ 


44  THE   YOUNG  PEOPLE'S   MOVEMENT 

Australia,  and  the  South  Sea  Islands.  Its  value  as  a  social  agency 
was  abundantly  recognized.  Before  1877,  an  Illinois  clergyman 
said:  "I  defend  the  Order  of  Good  Templars  on  this  ground  among 
others,  that  it  promotes  matrimony."  The  Sons  of  Temperance 
also  admitted  women  after  1866,  but  this  was  done  to  save  the 
organization  from  complete  collapse  on  account  of  the  war. 

In  this  period  the  element  of  recreation  comes  in  for  grudging 
acceptance.  In  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century  Francke  had 
written:  "Play  must  be  forbidden  in  any  and  all  of  its  forms. 
The  children  shall  be  instructed  in  this  matter  in  such  a  way  as  to 
show  them  the  wastefulness  and  folly  of  all  play.  They  shall  be 
led  to  see  that  play  will  distract  their  hearts  and  minds  from  God, 
and  will  work  nothing  but  harm  to  their  spiritual  lives."  Quite 
in  the  same  spirit  was  the  conception  "fifty  years  ago"^  that  "if 
boys  or  girls  professed  conversion  and  all  love  of  play  and  amuse- 
ment was  not  exorcised,  it  was  thought  impossible  that  they  should 
know  anything  of  a  work  of  grace."  But  at  this  point  a  new  atti- 
tude becomes  discernible.  Provision  began  to  be  made  for  recrea- 
tion in  one  form  or  another,  linked  up  with  other  things  belonging 
to  the  higher  life,  partly  because  young  people  were  determined  to 
have  it,  rarely  because  play  was  recognized  as  having  a  legiti- 
mate place.  The  London  Sunday  School  Union  "in  1861  and 
following  winter  seasons  held  special  gatherings  of  senior  scholars 
of  a  social  and  recreative  character  which  were  largely  attended  and 
which  proved  highly  popular  with  the  young  people."'  An  Ameri- 
can writer  in  1868  said :  "  Social  meetings  of  the  [young  men's]  class 
should  be  held  now  and  then,  and  pains  should  be  taken  to  make 
them  attractive  and  useful.  Young  men  and  women  must  have 
their  social  natures  regarded. "^  The  Boston  Y.M.C.U.  was 
organized  partly  "to  furnish  the  young  men  of  Boston  and  vicinity 
a  place  of  pleasant  resort  ....  and  to  provide  them  with  oppor- 
tunities of  healthful  recreation  at  little  or  no  expense."  The 
Y.M.C.A.from  the  startused  its  influence  to  secure  greater  leisure  for 
working  young  men,  and  to  provide  for  the  proper  employment  of 

'  Young  People's  Union,  September  26,  1891,  p.  10. 
^  Groser,  Hundred  Years'  Work  for  the  Children,  p.  65. 
3  Pardee,  Sabbath  School  Index,  p.  152. 


THE  PERIOD   OF  EXPANSION  45 

that  leisure.  When  the  Y.M.C.A.  building  in  New  York  was 
erected  in  1869,  there  was  a  gymnasium  in  it;  the  same  was  true  of 
the  new  Boston  Y.M.C.U.  Building  erected  in  1876.  The  constant 
fear,  however,  lest  the  recreation  become  other  than  that  suitable 
for  Christians,  is  clearly  reflected,  on  the  part  not  only  of  Metho- 
dists but  of  all  evangelical  Christians,  in  the  introduction  of  the 
prohibition  of  certain  specified  forbidden  "worldly  amusements" 
into  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Discipline  of  1872. 

One  of  the  most  important  lines  of  development  connected  with 
the  young  people's  movement  was  the  clear  recognition  in  this 
period  of  the  principle  of  social  service.  The  term  today  means 
*'  the  application  of  Christian  principles  to  social  life  and  the  realiza- 
tion of  the  Christian  ideal  in  human  society,"  but  this  definition 
stands  at  the  end  of  a  long  evolution.  For  many  years  the  phrase 
meant  simply  philanthropy,  and  the  majority  of  evangelical  Chris- 
tians justified  their  philanthropy  by  its  value  as  a  bait  to  lead 
people  to  the  religious  life.  The  conception  that  brotherly  kindness 
is  in  itself  religious  seems  to  have  become  general  first  in  Germany 
in  connection  with  the  "Inner  Mission."  This  expression  came 
into  use  in  1843,  ^^^  was  adopted  in  1848  by  a  church  conference 
of  500  representatives  of  evangelical  churches.  The  Inner  Mission 
includes  not  only  such  churchly  activities  as  Bible  societies,  Sunday- 
schools,  colportage,  and  city  missions,  but  also  Christian  lodging- 
houses,  work  among  neglected  children,  criminals,  soldiers,  the 
unemployed,  and  the  helpless.  The  work  has  expanded  with  the 
years. 

In  America  there  has  always  been  manifest  a  spirit  of  helpfulness 
whenever  a  great  need  has  become  apparent.  The  motive  back  of 
the  foundation  of  the  Boston  Y.M.C.A.  was  in  large  part  the  desire 
to  take  care  of  the  country  boys  who  came  to  the  city  to  work. 
The  United  States  Christian  Commission,  organized  by  the 
Y.M.C.A.  to  send  to  the  soldiers  some  of  the  comforts  of  home 
and  the  friendship  of  Christian  men,  performed  a  splendid  service. 
But  probably  all  the  leaders  did  their  part  in  the  hope  that  it  would 
result  in  the  salvation  of  the  men's  souls.  In  other  words,  philan- 
thropy was  regarded  with  favor  largely  because  it  was  a  means  of 
leading  the  individual  into  the  Christian  life.     The  task  of  the 


46  THE   YOUNG  PEOPLE'S   MOVEMENT 

church  was  conceived  as  the  conversion  and  continued  development 
of  the  individual,  and  few  would  have  understood  a  phrase  like 
"the  Christianization  of  the  social  order."  The  deaconess  move- 
ment has  helped  to  give  us  a  broader  conception,  but  what  was 
probably  the  most  important  means  calls  for  especial  mention. 

In  1870,  Edward  Everett  Hale  wrote  "Ten  Times  One  Is  Ten." 
It  was  the  story  of  a  club  with  four  mottoes: 

Look  up  and  not  down; 
Look  forward  and  not  back; 
Look  out  and  not  in;  and 
Lend  a  hand. 

Lend-a-Hand  clubs  multiplied.  The  first  was  organized  in 
187 1  in  New  York  among  the  boys  of  a  mission  school.  Three 
years  later  the  Children's  Department  of  the  Christian  Advocate 
founded  the  Look-up  Legion,  based  on  the  four  mottoes.  In  the 
same  year  a  Look-up  Legion  was  formed  at  Chautauqua.  Dr. 
Hale  was  besieged  with  inquiries,  and  pubHshed  several  pamphlets, 
later  issuing  the  monthly  Lend-a-Hand  Record.  The  organization 
required  was  of  the  slightest.  Each  club  might  take  whatever 
name,  constitution,  field  of  activity,  badge,  and  watchword  it  might 
desire.  The  one  thing  necessary  was  to  accept  the  Wadsworth 
mottoes.  Dr.  Hale  says:  "It  is  understood  in  their  organization 
that  members  must  not  live  to  themselves."  The  clubs  rapidly 
grew  to  include  100,000  members.  Perhaps  the  greatest  contribu- 
tion that  they  have  made  is  that  they  have  popularized  the  concep- 
tion that  the  real  Christian  feeds  the  hungry,  clothes  the  naked, 
visits  the  sick,  takes  upon  his  heart  any  needy  person  whom  he 
can  help;  in  a  word,  that  the  essential  Christian  spirit  is  love 
expressing  itself  in  service. 

That  these  clubs  did  not  prescribe  a  certain  body  of  doctrine 
and  a  certain  type  of  Christian  experience  and  expression  was  a 
serious  objection  to  them  in  the  minds  of  some  good  people.  That 
their  organization  was  loose  made  them  the  despair  of  people  who 
thought  only  in  terms  of  compact  state  and  national  formations. 
That  its  principles  did  not  provide  details  of  action  was  not  in  its 
favor  with  others.  Over  against  these  criticisms  should  be  set 
certain  appreciations.     The  very  flexibility  of  organization  per- 


THE   PERIOD   OF   EXPANSION  47 

mitted  each  club  to  meet  its  own  local  conditions  and  desires.  It 
set  up  vital  and  commanding  ideals  in  its  conception  of  religion  as 
fundamental;  in  its  appeal  for  a  healthy,  forward-reaching  spirit; 
in  its  call  for  loving  service  to  the  needy.  Finally,  each  club  might 
add  to  this  any  sort  of  prerequisite,  organization,  or  activity 
desired.  It  ought  to  be  said  that  Dr.  Hale  had  no  idea  of  organizing 
a  world-wide  federation  of  clubs  when  he  wrote  the  book,  but  he 
made  brotherliness  so  tangible  and  attractive  that  people  set  about 
practicing  it.^ 

Not  the  least  significant  feature  of  the  period  is  the  beginning 
of  the  appropriation  of  the  young  people's  movement  by  the  church. 
This  began  considerably  before  i860.  One  phase  of  it  is  traceable 
in  young  people's  Bible  classes.  Dr.  Tyng  mentions  a  weekly 
female  Bible  class  which  he  was  meeting  during  the  week  in  1845. 
In  1866,  at  St.  George's  in  New  York,  there  were  two  young  women's 
Bible  classes  of  39  and  57  members  respectively,  and  a  young  men's 
class  of  33  members.  The  First  Baptist  Sunday  School  of  Urbana, 
Ohio,  has  had  an  organized  class  since  1870.  From  1870  to  1875, 
it  was  composed  only  of  young  men;  for  three  years  young  women 
were  admitted,  but  the  class  declined.  On  the  return  of  the  former 
teacher,  the  old  basis  was  resumed,  and  the  class  has  been  in  suc- 
cessful operation  since.  The  Wesleyan  Bible  class  of  the  Western 
Avenue  Methodist  Church  in  Chicago,  originally  composed  of 
young  men,  but  now  a  mixed  class,  has  maintained  its  interest  since 
1880.  An  Episcopal  clergyman  in  1873  wished  to  utiHze  "  the  large 
Bible  classes  in  the  various  parishes  by  making  them  little  societies 
for  Christian  work,  agencies  by  themselves."^ 

In  view  of  later  developments  it  is  not  a  little  interesting  to 
read  these  words  written  in  1868  of  young  men's  classes: 

Band  the  young  people  together  in  social  bonds  and  mutual  pledges,  if  you 
please,  to  attend  church,  prayer-meeting  and  Sabbath  School,  to  read  the  Bible 
and  pray  regularly,  and  perhaps  pledge  also  against  improper  reading,  associ- 
ates, games,  drinking,  smoking,  late  hours,  neglect  of  the  Sabbath,  and  unite 

'  The  King's  Daughters  are  simply  a  branch  of  the  Lend-a-Hand  Clubs,  but 
are  treated  separately  in  order  to  bring  out  more  clearly  their  relation  to  the  entire 
movement. 

'  Christian  Union,  1873,  P-  S02. 


48  THE  YOUNG  PEOPLE'S  MOVEMENT 

them  in  associated  literary  efforts,  in  tract  missions,  Sabbath  School  work,  in 
visitation,  and  in  all  ways  of  doing  good.  There  should  be  social  prayer- 
meetings  of  the  class  at  convenient  times.^ 

As  our  data  show,  these  instructions  were  largely  carried  out. 

There  were  many  organized  societies  of  young  people.  In 
1848,  there  was  a  young  people's  society  in  the  First  Baptist  Church 
of  Rochester,  New  York.  "A  prayer-meeting  was  started  in  the 
First  Baptist  Church  [New  York  City]  among  the  young  people 

nearly  half  a  century  ago The  meetings  grew  in  power. 

It  forced  them  to  go  into  the  large  lecture  room."^  The  records 
of  the  Strong  Place  Baptist  Church  of  Brooklyn  show  that  a  young 
people's  prayer-meeting  was  held  there  February  17,  1853,  and 
thereafter.  The  Tabernacle  Baptist  Church  of  Philadelphia  organ- 
ized a  Young  Men's  Association  on  February  21,  1859;  on  May  7, 
i860,  it  became  a  Young  People's  Association,  and  women  were 
included.  This  society  in  1859  organized  a  mission  school,  which 
became  the  Pilgrim  Baptist  Church.  These  early  societies  also 
engaged  in  systematic  visitation  of  the  neighborhood.  One  of  the 
most  interesting  was  that  at  Marengo,  Illinois,  of  which  the  pastor 
and  organizer  has  left  the  following  account.  A  revival  in  1857-8 
had  brought  many  young  people  into  the  church,  and  he  organized 
them  into  the  "Pastor's  Helpers."  This  was  much  more  than  a 
young  people's  prayer-meeting,  "of  which  there  were  scores  in  the 
churches  of  that  day."  The  church  covenant  was  the  only  pledge 
and  there  were  no  associate  members. 

The  objects  of  the  society  were  to  develop  and  strengthen  the  Christian 
life  of  its  members,  to  bring  scholars  into  the  Sunday  School,  to  welcome 
strangers  at  the  Sunday  services,  to  form  the  acquaintance  of  young  people  for 
the  purpose  of  introducing  them  to  our  meeting,  and  to  labor  for  their  conver- 
sion, to  visit  the  sick,  to  do  Sunday  School  work  in  outlying  neighborhoods. 
....  All  this  work  was  separately  organized  and  placed  in  the  hands  of 

committees When  the  pastor  resigned  in  1869  to  accept  the  call  to 

Delavan,  the  society  numbered  160.3 

At  Delavan,  this  pastor  organized  a  similar  society,  with  a  special 
pledge.     It  had  eleven  committees,  and  still  exists. 

'  Pardee,  Sabbath  School  Index,  p.  152. 

'  Young  People's  Union,  February  13,  1892,  p.  6. 

3  Baptist  Union,  V,  75. 


THE  PERIOD   OF  EXPANSION  49 

Another  significant  society  was  that  in  the  First  Baptist  Church 
of  Troy,  New  York.  In  1863  a  society  of  young  men  was  formed, 
the  pastor  preaching  from  the  text,  "And  there  went  with  him  a 
band  of  young  men  whose  hearts  the  Lord  had  touched."  Later 
in  the  same  year  a  similar  organization  of  young  women  was 
formed.     In  1876,  these  two  merged  into  the  "Covenant  Band." 

There  were  many  other  such  societies  in  Baptist  churches,'  and 
the  same  thing  was  taking  place  elsewhere  as  well.  Incidentally 
we  learn  that  there  was  a  young  people's  society  in  the  First  Presby- 
terian Church  of  Sodus,  New  York  at  least  as  early  as  1875.  A 
fellow-student  at  Andover  of  Dr.  F.  E.  Clark  organized  in  1880 
"the  young  People's  Society  for  Christian  Work"  in  the  Boylston 
Congregational  Church,  Jamaica  Plains,  Massachusetts.  In  the 
First  United  Brethren  Church  of  Dayton,  Ohio,  a  society  of  24 
young  men  was  organized  in  187 1,  of  whom  6  were  still  members 
in  1896.  "In  1878  ....  Rev.  Dr.  Hurlbut  at  Hoboken,  N.J. 
[Methodist],  organized  one  hundred  young  people,  each  of  whom 
signed  a  pledge  to  pray  every  day  and  attend  the  young  people's 
prayer-meeting  every  week." 

Not  the  least  interesting  of  these  earlier  societies  was  a  Christian 
Endeavor  Society  in  the  North  Avenue  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  of  Allegheny,  Pennsylvania.  When  Dr.  Leak  went  to  this 
charge  in  the  fall  of  1880,  he  found  three  members  of  a  former 
young  men's  society.  He  disbanded  this  society  and  proceeded 
to  organize  one  of  young  men  and  women. 

Before  that  time  I  had  seen  in  the  newspapers  an  account  of  the  founding 
in  Brookljoi  of  the  Church  of  Christian  Endeavor  by  the  Rev.  Edward  Eggles- 
ton.  The  name  struck  me  as  being  a  pecuUarly  appropriate  one  for  our  society, 
and  at  a  meeting  called  for  organization,  I  suggested  it.  It  met  with  instant 
favor  and  was  adopted  by  the  new  society. 

'Burlington,  Vermont,  1866;  Troy,  New  York,  Fifth  Avenue  Church,  1876; 
Flint,  Michigan,  1868;  Penacook,  New  Hampshire,  1869;  Galesburg,  Illinois,  First 
Church,  1870-1;  Norwalk,  Ohio,  1870;  Portland,  Maine,  Free  Street  Church,  1871; 
Ann  Arbor,  Michigan,  First  Church,  1874;  Staunton,  West  Virginia,  1874;  Albany, 
New  York,  Tabernacle,  1874;  Ionia,  Michigan,  1875;  Kalamazoo,  Michigan,  First 
Church,  1876;  Centralia,  Illinois,  1876;  Hartford,  Connecticut,  First  Church,  1877; 
Plainwell,  Michigan,  1878;  Chicago,  Illinois,  Second  Church,  prior  to  1879;  Des 
Moines,  Iowa,  1880;  Detroit,  Michigan,  Woodward  Avenue  Church,  1880;  Newark, 
New  Jersey,  First  Church,  1880.  Four  German  Baptist  Societies  are  known  to  have 
been  organized  before  1880. 


50  THE   YOtTNG  PEOPLE'S   MOVEMENT 

A  revival  came  on  before  organization  was  complete,  and  in  the 
spring  when  the  matter  was  taken  up  again  the  constitution  of  the 
Portland  Society  of  Christian  Endeavor  had  found  its  way  to  Dr. 
Leak's  hands,  and  his  society  was  organized  largely  on  that  basis. 
Any  religious  paper  of  that  day  giving  church  news  will  contain 
many  items  such  as  the  following  from  the  Christian  Union,  1873. 

Dr.  Eddy  holds  a  young  people's  meeting  on  Tuesday  evenings  which  is 

largely  attended  [p.  114I In  1867,  several  young  women  of  St.  John's 

Episcopal  Church,  Washington,  D.C.,  pledged  themselves  to  devote  a  certain 
amount  of  time  to  benevolent  work,  and  had  started  a  children's  hospital 

[p.  294] A  club  of  young  men  inquires  if  a  Unitarian  is  a  Christian 

[p.  312I Sixteen  yoimg  girls  of  Broadway  Tabernacle,  New  York,  form 

an  association  of  their  own  accord  to  do  something  for  missions.     They  pledge 
themselves  two  cents  per  week  and  raise  $600.     Seven  of  them  join  the  church 

[p-  394]- 

In  order  to  complete  this  brief  survey,  three  further  items  are  to 
be  noted.  While  there  were  probably  hundreds  of  such  more  or 
less  organized  societies  in  existence  in  1881,  they  were  the  excep- 
tion rather  than  the  rule.  In  the  ordinary  church,  the  revival  would 
arouse  a  company  of  young  men  or  women,  less  frequently  both 
together,  to  organize  a  praying  band  to  meet  and  pray  for  the  uncon- 
verted. These  bands  had  no  further  reason  for  existence  and 
died  out  when  the  revival  was  over.  The  pastor's  class  in  prepara- 
tion for  church  membership  and  for  further  training  after  entering 
the  church  was  much  more  frequent  and  stable. 

A  second  item  concerns  the  organization  of  at  least  three  city 
unions  of  young  people.  Prior  to  1872,  a  group  of  lyceums  in 
Methodist  churches  in  Philadelphia  had  formed  a  city  union.  The 
Young  People's  Baptist  Union  of  Brooklyn,  New  York,  was  formed 
in  1877.  In  the  j^ear  in  which  the  first  Christian  Endeavor  Society 
was  organized,  the  Brooklyn  Union  had  representatives  from  18 
local  societies  at  its  annual  meeting.  The  report  of  its  committee 
on  devotional  services  would  reflect  credit  on  a  similar  committee 
in  19 13.  A  union  of  Baptist  societies  in  Philadelphia  was  organized 
in  1880. 

The  last  item  in  this  connection  concerns  the  attempt  of  some 
Methodists   to   secure   denominational   recognition   of   a    young 


THE   PERIOD   OF  EXPANSION  51 

people's  society.  In  1864,  Dr.  J.  H.  Twombly  of  Boston  brought 
the  question  of  a  general  society  of  young  people  before  the  General 
Conference.  In  1866,  he  laid  the  matter  before  a  New  England 
Methodist  convention  in  Boston.  Later,  at  Madison,  Wisconsin, 
he  again  secured  a  hearing.  Meanwhile,  prior  to  1872,  in  Phila- 
delphia, in  the  Fifty-First  Street  Church,  a  lyceum  had  been  formed 
which  spread  among  the  churches  of  the  city,  and  a  union  had  been 
organized.  The  General  Conference  of  1872  was  memorialized 
to  give  official  recognition  to  the  lyceum,  but  in  the  press  of  busi- 
ness no  action  was  taken.  In  1876,  the  matter  was  taken  up  again 
and  the  memorial  of  1872  passed.  That  the  lyceum  was  un- 
successful is  not  material  at  this  point. 

Thus  in  this  period  the  principle  of  organization,  in  order  to 
achieve  greater  efficiency,  is  commonly  accepted;  there  is  a  large 
increase  in  the  membership  of  young  people's  societies  and  a  wide 
extension  of  sphere;  the  rights  of  recreation  and  of  the  physical 
organism  are  admitted;  the  principle  of  social  service  comes  clearly 
into  consciousness;  the  "discovery"  of  young  women  occurs;  the 
strategic  and  social  values  of  the  association  and  co-operation  of 
young  men  and  young  women  are  recognized;  not  least  important, 
the  church  begins  to  appropriate  the  movement,  and  to  mold  it 
to  her  practices  and  purposes. 


CHAPTER  V 

THE  PERIOD  OF  CHURCH  APPROPRIATION   (1881-1889) 

The  limits  of  this  period  are  fixed,  for  its  beginning  by  the  date 
of  the  organization  of  the  first  Christian  Endeavor  society  in  1881, 
whose  growth  and  development  we  shall  study  in  this  chapter; 
and,  for  its  close,  by  the  date — ^1889 — of  the  formation  of  the  Ep- 
worth  League,  a  denominational  organization,  one  of  the  most 
significant  of  those  differentiations  from  the  Christian  Endeavor 
Society,  which  took  many  forms. 

The  Young  People's  Society  of  Christian  Endeavor  is  important 
enough  historically  to  receive  a  chapter  by  itself.  It  will  be  under- 
stood that  the  other  movements  hitherto  described  were  still  in 
process  of  development,  and  that  new  movements,  to  be  discussed 
later,  were  coming  to  expression.  Indeed,  an  onlooker  up  to  1885 
would  probably  not  have  picked  out  the  Christian  Endeavor 
society  as  being  of  especial  importance.  To  us  it  appears  other- 
wise. 

The  first  Christian  Endeavor  society  was  organized  by  Dr. 
Francis  E.  Clark  in  the  WilHston  Congregational  Church  of  Port- 
land, Maine,  on  February  2,  188 1.  As  we  have  seen,  it  had  century- 
old  antecedents,  and  in  that  church,  though  it  was  only  eight  years 
old,  there  had  been  earlier  attempts  to  organize  the  young  people. 
Among  these  may  be  mentioned  a  literary  and  debating  society,  a 
musical  gild,  a  young  people's  prayer-meeting,  and  a  pastor's 
class  for  those  preparing  for  church  membership.  Mrs.  Clark  had 
organized  in  1877  ^  Mizpah  Circle  of  girls  for  mission  study,  boys 
being  included  later.  This  society  had  a  pledge :  "  Trusting  in  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  for  strength,  I  promise  Him  that  I  will  strive  to 
do  whatever  He  would  like  to  have  me  do,  that  I  will  pray  and  read 
the  Bible  every  day,  and  that  just  so  far  as  I  know  how,  I  will 
endeavor  to  lead  a  Christian  Hfe."  This  Circle,  with  a  class  of 
young  men  and  a  group  of  older  girls,  formed  the  first  Christian 
Endeavor  society. 

52 


THE   PERIOD   OF   CHURCH  APPROPRIATION  53 

Dr.  Clark  writes : 

In  the  winter  of  1880-81,  in  connection  with  some  Sunday-school  prayer- 
meetings,  quite  a  large  number  of  boys  and  girls  of  my  congregation  seemed 
hopefully  converted.  Their  ages  ranged  from  ten  to  eighteen,  most  of  them 
being  over  fourteen  years  old.  The  questions  became  serious.  How  shall  this 
band  be  trained,  how  shall  they  be  set  to  work,  how  shall  they  be  fitted  for 
church  membership  ?  Is  it  safe  with  only  the  present  agencies  at  work  to  admit 
them  to  church  membership  ?  .  .  .  .  Stimulated  and  guided  by  an  article  of 
Dr.  Cuyler's,  concerning  a  young  people's  association  in  his  church,  I  asked 
the  young  Christians  to  my  house  to  consider  the  formation  of  a  society  for 
Christian  work.  They  responded  in  large  numbers;  and  after  talking  the 
matter  over,  finding  them  willing  and  eager  to  enter  upon  religious  duties,  we 
formed  a  society  of  Christian  Endeavor  of  some  sixty  members.' 

The  characteristic  features  were  the  prayer-meeting  pledge, 
the  consecration  meeting,  and  the  committee  work.  The  pledge 
adopted  by  the  original  society  reads  as  follows: 

Trusting  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  for  strength,  I  promise  Him  that  I  will 
strive  to  do  whatever  he  would  like  to  have  me  do;  that  I  will  pray  to  Him 
and  read  the  Bible  every  day;  and  just  so  far  as  I  know  how,  throughout  my 
whole  life,  I  will  endeavor  to  lead  a  Christian  life.  As  an  Active  Member,  I 
promise  to  be  true  to  all  my  duties,  to  be  present  at  and  take  some  part, 
aside  from  singing,  in  every  meeting,  unless  hindered  by  some  reason  which  I 
can  conscientiously  give  to  my  Lord  and  Master,  Jesus  Christ.  If  obliged 
to  be  absent  from  the  monthly  consecration  meeting,  I  will  if  possible  send 
an  excuse  for  absence  to  the  society. 

The  consecration  meeting  was  called  the  "experience  meeting" 
and  the  roll  call  was  a  feature  from  the  beginning.  The  original 
committees  were  the  prayer-meeting,  to  plan  the  young  people's 
prayer-meetings;  the  lookout,  to  win  and  exercise  watch-care  over 
members;  and  the  social,  to  have  charge  of  the  recreational  aspect 
of  the  society's  life. 

In  order  to  appreciate  the  condition  calling  for  a  young  people's 
prayer-meeting,  we  must  glance  at  the  ordinary  church  prayer- 
meeting  of  that  day.  In  many  cases  the  minister  used  up  all  the 
time  except  for  one  or  two  long,  able,  and  ancient  prayers  by  elders 
or  deacons.  Those  who  spoke  must  "speak  to  edification,"  and 
this  frequently  consisted  in  a  long  review  of  the  entire  Christian 
and  pre-Christian  experience  of  the  confessor,  given  for  the  nth. 

'  Clark,  The  Children  and  the  Church. 


54  THE   YOUNG  PEOPLE'S  MOVEMENT 

time  in  the  same  words.  Even  the  Methodist  class-meeting  had 
become  formaHzed.  The  meetings  were  led  without  preparation, 
the  singing  was  spiritless,  the  prayers  tame,  and  the  questions 
answered  perfunctorily.  The  young  people  were  either  absent 
from  such  services  or  silent,  and  when  an  especially  courageous 
young  soul  ventured  to  testify  he  was  in  danger  of  being  waited 
on  by  the  elders  and  urged  to  keep  quiet  until  he  could  speak  to 
edification. 

The  young  people's  prayer-meeting  with  its  pledged  testimony 
changed  this.  These  young  folks  were  real  Christians  and,  seeking 
an  expression  for  their  new  experience,  naturally  chose  the  form 
sanctioned  in  their  church.  If  they  were  in  danger  of  omitting  their 
testimony,  the  pledge  acted  as  an  additional  incentive.  And 
further,  whoever  did  not  "confess"  Christ  not  only  broke  his 
promise,  but  "denied"  Christ,  and  was  in  danger  of  being  "denied 
before  the  Father  " — in  other  words,  condemned  to  eternal  perdition. 
There  were  thus  at  least  these  three  forces  urging  to  participation — 
their  own  desire,  their  pledge,  and  the  lurking  background  of  fear. 
In  proportion  as  the  first  waned  the  others  became  prominent. 
But  it  produced  lively  meetings,  and  "speaking  to  edification"  was 
reduced  to  a  minimum. 

The  committee  work  placed  on  the  young  people  definite 
responsibility  for  other  things  besides  testimony  in  prayer-meeting; 
it  presented  a  task  which  to  these  ardent  souls  so  long  shut  out  from 
any  active  participation  in  church  work  seemed  abundantly  worthy. 
Up  to  this  time  the  endeavor  in  the  churches  had  frequently  been  to 
attract  young  people  by  making  as  little  demand  as  possible.  The 
new  society  reversed  this  procedure,  and  the  young  people  proved 
themselves  eflacient  and  trustworthy.  The  growth  of  the  society 
was  little  less  than  marvelous.  In  a  year  the  original  63  members 
had  become  127,  of  whom  114  were  active  and  13  associate  members. 
In  1887,  when  Dr.  Clark  left  the  pastorate  (he  resigned  from  WilHs- 
ton  in  1883),  there  were  220  members,  including  13  honorary  and 
30  absent.  At  the  end  of  the  decade  the  membership  stood  at 
150,  with  a  junior  department  of  44,  and  98  had  joined  the  church.^ 
The  organization  also  developed,  partly  by  the  addition  of  com- 

^  Golden  Rule,  V,  305. 


THE   PERIOD   OF   CHURCH  APPROPRIATION  55 

mittees,  such  as  the  missionary,  music,  and  Sunday  school,  and 
partly  by  division  of  function,  as  when  certain  work  of  the  lookout 
committee  was  passed  to  the  calling  and  flower  committees. 

New  societies  sprang  up  everywhere.'  An  article  in  the  Con- 
gregationalist  led  to  the  organization  of  the  second  society  at  New- 
buryport,  Massachusetts,  October,  188 1.  The  pastor  had  before 
him  the  constitutions  of  half  a  dozen  young  people's  societies  then 
current,  but  preferred  that  of  the  Christian  Endeavor.  A  young 
English  mechanic  in  Portland  wrote  to  his  pastor  in  Crewe,  England, 
and  the  first  English  society  was  organized.  A  sailor  from  New- 
buryport  landed  in  Brisbane,  Australia,  and  a  society  resulted. 
An  Endeavorer  traveled  to  Tacoma,  Washington,  and  formed  the 
first  Christian  Endeavor  society  on  the  Pacific  coast.  A  newspaper 
clipping  led  to  the  first  society  in  Honolulu,  and  a  stray  copy  of 
the  Golden  Rule  to  the  first  in  Jamaica.  A  German  pastor  in 
Buffalo,  New  York,  wrote  an  account  of  it  for  a  paper  in  Germany, 
and  the  first  German  society  was  constituted.  At  a  conference 
held  in  Portland  in  1882,  7  societies  were  known.  This  grew  in 
1883  to  56;  in  1884  to  156;  in  1886  to  850,  representing  8  denomina- 
tions, 33  states,  and  7  foreign  countries;  in  1887  over  seven  thou- 
sand societies  were  reported,  with  nearly  half  a  million  members. 

The  growth  of  the  great  young  people's  conventions  is  especially 
noteworthy.  The  factors  making  them  possible  were  the  develop- 
ment of  education,  the  growth  of  the  newspaper  and  of  cheap,  safe, 
and  speedy  transportation,  the  recognition  of  young  people  as  an 
important  element  of  society,  the  sight-seeing  interest,  and  the  bond 
of  a  common  organization.  The  attendance  reached  its  climax  in 
Boston,  1895,  when  56,000  were  registered.  It  is  now  commonly 
agreed  that  the  day  of  such  conventions  is  past.  Up  to  the  con- 
vention of  1888,  a  large  part  of  the  time  was  given  up  to  methods 
of  work.  In  that  year  the  mass  meetings  became  distinctly 
inspirational,  and  simultaneous  conferences  discussed  committee 
work. 

At  the  fourth  convention  the  friends  of  the  organization  formed 
the  United  Society  of  Christian  Endeavor,  and  $1,200.00  was 
raised  to  engage  a  general  secretary.     In  this  year,  too,  the  trustees 

'  Clark,  Christian  Endeavor  in  All  Lands. 


^ 


56  THE  YOUNG  PEOPLE'S  MOVEMENT 

refused  to  receive  fraternal  delegates  from  any  organization  what- 
soever, because  they  had  been  "beset  by  political  parties,  temper- 
ance societies,  benevolent  organizations,  denominational  fraternities 
of  all  sorts,  asking  recognition  and  seeking  to  get  their  plans  before" 
the  conventions.  This  rule  was  later  used  to  exclude  many  well- 
disposed  members  of  denominational  young  people's  organizations, 
and  occasioned  not  a  little  friction.  It  was  an  extension  of  this 
rule  which  led  the  United  Society  repeatedly  to  advise  all  state, 
county,  and  even  city  Christian  Endeavor  Unions  not  to  admit 
to  their  fellowship  any  but  Christian  Endeavor  societies.  This 
had  the  curious  effect  of  excluding  multitudes  of  Methodists, 
Baptists,  and  others  from  a  society  standing  explicitly  for  a 
union  of  the  evangelical  Christians,  and  at  least  in  one  case 
(Rochester,  New  York)  of  admitting  two  Universalist  Christian 
Endeavor  societies. 

The  year  1886  saw  the  purchase  of  the  Golden  Rule,  a  paper 
founded  in  1876  by  a  Congregational  minister,^  and  the  first  issue 
under  Christian  Endeavor  auspices  appeared  October  7,  1886.  In 
October,  1890,  it  had  54,000  subscribers,  and  a  year  later  66,000.  In 
1887,  the  first  series  of  uniform  topics  was  issued.  In  this  year  also 
Dr.  Clark  resigned  from  his  church  to  give  all  his  time  to  the  Chris- 
tian Endeavor  society,  his  salary  being  paid  by  the  Golden  Rule. 
In  1889,  the  Canadian  delegation  was  admitted,  and  the  first  inter- 
national convention  was  held.  In  this  year  too  the  second  secretary 
resigned,  and  John  Willis  Baer,  to  whose  vision,  wisdom,  and  tact 
the  movement  owes  so  much,  became  general  secretary,  holding 
this  position  until  1902. 

In  the  period  under  discussion,  the  city  Christian  Endeavor 
Union  came  into  existence,  the  first  being  at  New  Haven,  Connecti- 
cut, composed  of  six  societies.^  The  organizer  incorrectly  states 
that  "this  was  the  first  organization  of  the  kind  in  our  country," 
for  at  least  three  city  unions  of  young  people  had  previously  been 
formed.^  Out  of  this  New  Haven  Union  grew  the  Connecticut  state 
convention,  the  first  of  the  state  conventions  of  the  Christian 
Endeavor  society. 

'  Golden  Rule,  August  15,  1895. 

^  Golden  Rule,  V,  307.  »  Cf.  pp.  48,  49. 


THE   PERIOD   OF  CHURCH  APPROPRIATION  57 

The  financing  of  the  Christian  Endeavor  movement  in  the  eady 
days  is  a  story  of  personal  gifts.  In  1883,  the  little  group  of  inter- 
ested friends  raised  $71 .  00  to  print  the  report.  When  the  United 
Society  was  organized  a  membership  fee  was  charged  (annual, 
$1.00;  sustaining,  $5.00;  life,  $20.00).  The  convention  of  1885 
raised,  by  subscription,  $1,200. 00  to  pay  the  salary  of  the  secretary.' 
No  society  enrolled  with  the  central  office  assumed  any  financial 
responsibility  in  so  doing,  but  not  a  few  were  invited  to  contribute.^ 
In  1889,  the  Golden  Rule  office  opened  a  job-printing  department, 
and  the  sale  of  supplies  immediately  proved  profitable.  Dr. 
Clark  and  the  little  group  composing  the  Golden  Rule  Publishing 
Company  have  not  made  any  financial  statements  to  the  Christian 
Endeavor  constituency,  but  the  Golden  Rule,  now  the  Christian 
Endeavor  World,  was  and  is  a  private  business  venture  and  not  under 
the  direction  of  the  trustees  of  the  United  Society.  It  is  not  with- 
out interest,  however,  to  note  that  the  Baptist  Union,  whose  circu- 
lation never  went  beyond  30,000,  and  was  usually  much  below, 
cleared  $13,269.93  in  five  years;  and  that  the  Epworth  Herald, 
with  100,000  subscribers,  only  slightly  in  excess  of  those  of  the 
Christian  Endeavor  World,  cleared  $25,000. 00  in  1907.  In  addition 
to  the  earnings  from  the  paper,  the  Golden  Rule  Publishing  Com- 
pany has  also  handled  Christian  Endeavor  supplies,  on  which  the 
profits  are  known  to  be  very  large. 

Three  questions  remain  to  be  considered  in  this  chapter :  What 
was  original  in  the  Christian  Endeavor  idea  ?  What  obstacles  did 
it  meet  ?     What  was  the  secret  of  its  growth  ? 

If  one  asks.  What  was  original  in  the  Christian  Endeavor  idea  ? 
one  experiences  the  greatest  difi&culty  in  finding  anything,  unless 
it  be  the  badge  and  the  particular  form  of  the  pledge.  In  particular, 
its  name  was  not  original.  Edward  Eggleston  reorganized  the  Lee 
Avenue  Congregational  Church  of  Brooklyn  into  the  "Church  of 
Christian  Endeavor,"  "translating,"  according  to  his  sister,  "the 
name  of  the  Hoosier  Schoolmaster's  '  Church  of  the  Best  Licks'  into 
a  title  better  fitted  for  the  new  locality."*  There  was  also  a  Chris- 
tian Endeavor  society  in  a  bhnd  school  in  Massachusetts  earlier 

» Golden  Rule,  V,  299,  305;   Young  People's  Union,  December  17,  1892. 
^ Proc.  B.Y.P.U.A.  Convention,  1894,  p.  85. 
J  Zimmerman  in  Epworth  Herald,  III,  791. 


58  THE  YOUNG  PEOPLE'S  MOVEMENT 

than  1 88 1  and  the  Methodist  Christian  Endeavor  society  already- 
referred  to,  but  these  are  without  significance  except  as  indicating 
the  suggestive  character  of  the  name.  The  pledge  idea  was  found 
in  church  covenants,  church  young  people's  societies,  and  temper- 
ance societies,  not  to  mention  Greek-letter  fraternities  and  the  secret 
orders.  The  organization  of  young  people  about  a  prayer-meeting, 
with  a  constitution,  pledged  daily  prayer  and  attendance  at  the 
meetings,  committee  work  emphasizing  the  same  functions  which 
the  Christian  Endeavor  plan  emphasized,  and  the  union  of  young 
men  and  women  in  religious  service  and  in  recreation,  were  borrowed 
for  the  most  part  directly  from  Dr.  Cuyler's  Association,  though 
they  were,  so  to  speak,  in  the  air.  The  consecration  meeting  was 
simply  the  adoption  of  the  Methodist  class-meeting,  the  Baptist 
covenant  meeting,  and  similar  meetings  in  other  communions. 
The  name  of  the  most  important  committee,  the  lookout,  was  taken 
over  from  the  second  of  the  Wadsworth  mottoes,  and  indeed 
Lookout  Societies  were  not  unknown.  Even  the  motto,  "For 
Christ  and  the  Church,"  introduced  some  years  later,  is  simply 
a  translation  of  Harvard's  "Christo  et  Ecclesiae."  When  Dr. 
Bacon  says  that  there  is  no  traceable  connection  with  other  organi- 
zations, that  "it  grew  from  its  own  root,"^  he  makes  a  statement 
which  is  a  priori  questionable,  and  which  we  see  to  be  mistaken. 
Dr.  Clark  speaks  the  exact  truth:  "The  Christian  Endeavor  move- 
ment seems  to  have  been  born  in  a  day;  it  was  really  the  result 
of  a  century  of  care  and  thought  and  prayer  for  the  young. "^ 

It  is  not  our  desire  to  minimize  in  the  least  the  profound  con- 
tribution Dr.  Clark  made  to  the  young  people's  movement  and  to 
the  Hfe  of  the  church.  He  belongs  essentially  with  Raikes.  There 
were  Sunday  schools  before  Raikes,  but  he  crystallized,  stand- 
ardized, and  popularized  the  Sunday-school  movement.  Dr. 
Clark  embodied  the  trend  of  the  times,  and  his  winsome,  energetic 
personality  gave  to  the  church  of  the  eighties  exactly  the  society 
it  was  looking  for.     He  was  the  prophet  of  that  day. 

Mention  must  be  made  of  the  hostile  criticism  to  which  the 
Christian  Endeavor  movement  was  subjected.     Some  indifferent 

'  Bacon,  Young  People's  Societies. 

'  Clark,  Christian  Endeavor  in  All  Lands,  p.  296. 


THE   PERIOD   OF   CHURCH  APPROPRIATION  59 

people  called  it  a  fad  and  predicted  its  speedy  collapse,  but  the 
majority  took  it  seriously.  It  was  declared  to  be  without  scrip- 
tural authority,  and  to  be  usurping  the  place  of  the  church,  which 
alone  had  divine  authorization.  It  was  greatly  feared  that  it 
would  divide  the  church  on  the  basis  of  age,  and  supplant  the 
church  in  the  affection  of  the  young.  It  was  declared  by  many 
that  it  interfered  seriously  with  other  church  meetings,  particu- 
larly the  Sunday  evening  preaching  service,  usually  evangelistic, 
and  the  midweek  prayer-meeting.  Many  feared  that  it  would 
divert  the  young  people's  money  from  denominational  channels, 
and  would  lead  to  haphazard  giving  and  a  lack  of  interest  in  the 
causes  to  which  the  church  and  denomination  were  pledged.  An 
Episcopal  clergyman  declared  that  it  was  unchurchly  and  anti- 
churchly.  When  the  United  Society  began  to  publish  the  Golden 
Rule  and  other  literature,  the  "colorless"  nature  of  its  productions 
was  seriously  criticized,  one  writer  declaring  that  ''The  writers  of 
Christian  Endeavor  literature  stand  in  fear  of  all  denominations, 
not  daring  to  run  counter  to  the  creeds  of  the  narrowest  religious 
body.  Accordingly  they  ....  get  into  the  habit  of  dealing  out 
religious  platitudes  for  a  steady  diet."^ 

The  pledge  came  in  for  adverse  comment.  A  pledge  in  addition 
to  one's  confirmation  or  baptismal  vow  was  held  to  be  at  least 
unnecessary.  It  did  not  concern  itself  with  principles,  but  with 
details,  and  those  not  the  most  important.  It  frequently  led  to 
thoughtless,  formal,  and  perfunctory  testimony.  It  was  not  kept 
by  a  very  large  number  of  people,  and  resulted  in  hypocrisy  and 
casuistry.  One  pastor  thought  it  inadvisable  that  everyone  should 
take  part  in  every  meeting,  and  that  some  place  should  be  left  for 
the  Holy  Spirit's  direction.  Not  the  least  difficult  objection  to 
meet  was  St.  Paul's  injunction  that  women  were  not  to  speak  in 
church,  and  the  exegesis  by  which  this  was  evaded  is  both  curious 
and  wonderful. 

There  were  others  who  feared  that  the  society  would  destroy 
the  usefuhiess  of  the  Y.M.C.A.  The  conventions  were  criticized 
upon  many  grounds,  especially  that  of  expense.  Some  were  indig- 
nant that  young  people  should  find  life  mates  in  the  church  society 
and  declared  that  the  initials  stood  for  "Courting  Endeavor." 

'  Epworth  Herald,  IX,  499. 


60  THE   YOUNG  PEOPLE'S   MOVEMENT 

One  of  the  most  serious  obstacles  consisted  in  the  scores  of  other 
societies  already  existing  in  the  churches.  As  one  reads  the  church 
items  of  papers  of  all  denominations  in  this  first  decade  of  the  Chris- 
tian Endeavor  society,  one  meets  mission  societies,  temperance 
leagues,  young  people's  prayer-meetings,  literary  societies,  and  in 
particular  Young  People's  Associations  or  Young  People's  Chris- 
tian Associations,  descendants  of  Dr.  Cuyler's  organization.  Most 
of  these  were  ultimately  included  in  or  replaced  by  the  Christian 
Endeavor  society.  Instead  of  an  open  field,  the  new  society  had 
to  make  its  way,  in  the  larger  churches,  in  the  face  of  established 
organizations.  There  was  this  difference:  the  Christian  Endeavor 
society  was  being  vigorously  pushed  from  without,  and  the  others 
were  not. 

What  was  the  secret  of  the  rapid  growth  of  the  Christian 
Endeavor  movement?  To  answer  that  it  succeeded  because  it 
deserved  to  succeed  may  be  true  but  is  not  illuminating.  Nor  is  it 
final  to  say  ''the  hand  of  Providence,"  for  other  hands  are  plainly 
visible.  The  fundamental  reason  why  the  Christian  Endeavor 
society  became  dominant,  rather  than  the  Young  People's  Associa- 
tion or  the  Lend-a-Hand  Clubs,  seems  to  have  been  its  wide  and 
persistent  advertising.  In  August,  1881,  Dr.  Clark  wrote  an  ac- 
count of  his  society  to  the  Congregationalist,  which  was  republished 
in  the  Sunday  School  Times  and  in  England.^  Shortly  after  the  con- 
ference of  1882,  1,000  copies  of  the  constitution  were  printed  and 
sent  to  all  churches  reporting  a  revival.  Five  hundred  newspapers 
representing  every  part  of  the  country  were  selected  and  notices 
sent  to  them  regarding  the  methods  and  aims  of  the  society. 
William  J.  Van  Patten,  of  Burlington,  Vermont,  circulated  Dr. 
Clark's  books.  The  Children  at  the  Church  Doors  and  The  Children  and 
the  Church,  in  large  numbers.  Reports  of  conventions  were  scattered 
broadcast.^  The  Golden  Rule  has  always  been  a  strong  factor  in 
this  propaganda.  Dr.  Clark  in  1891  gave  fourteen  rules  for  the 
conduct  of  conventions,  of  which  five  deal  with  advertising.  " .  .  .  . 
(2)  Advertise  well.  (3)  Let  it  be  understood  that  it  will  be  a 
great  meeting (5)  Have  as  many  denominational  repre- 

'  Christian  Endeavor  in  All  Lands,  chap.  iv. 
^New  England  Magazine,  N.S.,  XII,  593;  VI,  513. 


THE   PERIOD   OF  CHURCH  APPROPRIATION  6 1 

sentatives  on  the  program  as  possible (12)  Have  a  press 

committee  to  get  notices  inserted  everywhere.  (13)  See  that  dele- 
gates report  the  meeting  at  home."^  This  represents  the  method 
by  which  the  Christian  Endeavor  society  grew.  These  men 
believed  that  they  had  something  worth  while,  and  were  determined 
that  all  should  know  of  it. 

After  securing  a  hearing,  the  society  must  still  approve  itself 
to  the  young  people  and  to  the  churches  and  pastors.  From  the 
point  of  view  of  the  former  there  were  at  least  five  attractive 
features  all  bound  up  in  the  name.  It  was  a  '^  young  people's 
society,"  giving  complete  recognition  to  them.  Further,  instead 
of  being  composed  of  young  men  or  young  women  alone,  it  com- 
prised both  sexes.  It  was  a  "society,"  with  constitution,  officers, 
and  committees,  appealing  to  an  age  to  which  officeholding,  signaliz- 
ing the  holder  of  the  office,  and  committee  positions,  implying  the 
confidence  of  one's  fellows  and  presenting  a  challenge  to  faithfulness 
and  efficiency,  mean  much.  It  was  an  "endeavor"  society,  sug- 
gesting activity  and  achievement.  Finally  it  was  a  "Christian" 
society,  presenting  as  its  standard  the  self-sacrificing  service  of 
Christ.  If  to  us  who  live  thirty  years  later  this  society  seems  not 
to  have  borne  out  the  promise  of  its- name,  we  must  do  it  the  justice 
to  remember  that  in  the  past  thirty  years  Christian  ideals  have 
become  broader  and  the  emphasis  has  somewhat  changed.  To 
judge  the  Endeavor  society  of  today  by  the  standards  of  today 
is  quite  a  different  matter  and  entirely  legitimate. 

From  the  standpoint  of  the  pastor  and  the  local  church,  the 
Christian  Endeavor  movement  made  a  powerful  appeal.  It  gave 
religion  the  central  place.  Instead  of  keeping  it  out  of  sight  lest 
it  frighten  the  youth,  instead  of  asking  as  little  and  offering  as  much 
as  possible,  the  Christian  Endeavor  movement  presented  to  young 
men  and  women  a  direct  and  vital  approach  to  religion,  an  oppor- 
tunity to  which  they  responded.  Religion  was  recognized  by  all 
concerned  as  dignified,  worthy,  significant. 

The  organization  was  evangelical.  It  persistently  opposed  the 
admission  of  Unitarians  and  Universalists  into  its  ranks.  It  set 
itself  against  those  amusements  regarded  as  questionable  by  the 

=  Golden  Rule,  V,  773. 


62  THE  YOUNG  PEOPLE  S  MOVEMENT 

majority  of  evangelicals.  Its  standards  of  religion  were  those 
common  to  orthodox  churches.  As  the  Y.M.C.A.  had  found  favor 
because  of  its  Portland  basis,  so  the  Portland  society  found  favor 
for  the  same  reason. 

It  provided  for  a  great  unification  and  simplification  of  the 
local  work.  Young  men's  clubs  and  young  women's  gilds  united; 
missionary  societies  dropped  their  separate  organization  and 
worked  through  the  missionary  committee;  young  people's  choirs 
came  under  the  leadership  of  the  music  committee;  church  temper- 
ance societies  went  out  of  existence  and  reappeared  as  temperance 
committees.  One  pastor  had  six  independent  societies  in  his 
church;  they  became  two,  a  senior  and  a  junior  society,  and  each 
took  care  of  all  the  activities  of  its  group.  Every  phase  of  church 
work  for  young  people  was  unified  in  the  Christian  Endeavor 
society. 

The  organization  was  flexible,  yet  compact.  It  was  found 
adaptable  to  any  sort  of  condition.  Endeavor  societies  were 
established  in  the  navy,  in  prisons,  in  schools,  in  police  stations, 
on  mission  fields.  The  most  extraordinary  committees  were  con- 
stituted as  occasion  required.  Yet  the  organization  was  compact. 
Officers  could  keep  close  to  all  committee  work,  advising  and  co- 
ordinating. The  pastor  was  ex  officio  a  member  of  the  society  and 
of  the  executive  committee.  Through  his  officers  and  chairmen 
he  could  accomplish  much,  not  only  saving  his  time  and  energy 
for  other  things,  but  knowing  accurately  the  status  of  each  member 
of  the  society. 

It  provided  for  the  exaltation  of  the  local  church.  Constantly, 
as  one  reads  the  pages  of  the  Golden  Rule,  one  meets  with  the  advice, 
"Ask  your  pastor  or  official  board."  These  constitute  for  the 
Endeavor  the  final  court  of  appeal,  according  to  the  principles  of 
the  society.  The  United  Society  frequently  reiterated  its  statement 
that  it  exercised  no  authority.  The  society  belonged  to  the  local 
church,  was  to  give  through  it,  maintain  its  services,  study  its 
doctrines,  be  true  to  its  practices. 

For  many  ministers,  the  way  in  which,  in  county,  state,  and 
national  conventions,  their  young  people  were  brought  in  contact 
with  the  young  people  of  other  societies  and  denominations,  listened 


THE   PERIOD   OF   CHURCH  APPROPRIATION  63 

to  the  great  preachers  of  all  the  evangelical  churches,  and  learned 
to  appreciate  the  good  in  all  endeavors  after  righteousness,  was  one 
of  the  greatest  blessings. 

Thus  in  this  period  the  young  people's  movement  was  clearly 
recognized  and  attained  enthusiastic  self-consciousness.  It  was 
adopted  and  adapted  by  the  churches.  The  educational  principle 
of  training  through  expressional  activity  was  consciously  pressed 
into  service,  and  found  a  hearty  response  among  the  young  people. 
A  definite  standardization  of  the  forms  that  expression  should 
take  was  effected.  The  church  prayer-meeting  underwent  change 
in  character  and  constituency.  The  unification  of  many  different 
phases  of  young  people's  work  in  church  and  community  was 
brought  to  pass,  and  the  emphasis  upon  certain  aspects  of  evangeli- 
cal doctrine  and  experience  worked  strongly  to  promote  inter- 
denominational good  feeHng.  A  zealous  propagandism  spread 
abroad  the  Christian  Endeavor  name,  organization,  and  methods, 
and  furnished  a  profound  stimulus  to  all  workers  with  young  people. 


CHAPTER  VI 
THE  PERIOD  OF  DIFFERENTIATION  (1889-1912)' 

While  the  distinctive  features  of  this  period  will  be  discussed 
under  the  head  of  differentiation,  we  should  recognize  that  the 
movements  whose  rise  we  have  noted,  but  whose  development  in 
detail  we  must  omit,  are  not  only  existent  but  vigorous.  A  num- 
ber of  items,  however,  concerning  certain  phases  of  the  Y.M.C.A. 
and  of  the  Christian  Endeavor  movement,  need  to  be  indicated  in 
order  to  understand  present  conditions. 

The  varied  work  of  the  Y.M.C.A.  already  noted  continued  to 
expand  with  the  years,  and  new  work  was  begun.  One  of  the  most 
significant  of  the  new  departures  was  its  educational  work,  provid- 
ing not  only  night  schools  of  the  conventional  type,  but  night  and 
day  schools  for  vocational  instruction,^  the  courses  including  as 
widely  diverse  subjects  as  running  automobiles  and  a  complete 
law  course.  Its  certificates  are  accepted  at  par  by  108  colleges. 
The  number  of  students  enrolled  in  these  courses  in  191 1  was  61,904. 

Perhaps  the  most  significant  indorsement  of  the  Association 
occurred  when  the  United  States  government  erected  four  club- 
houses in  the  Panama  Canal  zone  for  the  men  at  work  on  the  canal, 
and  intrusted  their  direction  to  the  International  Committee. 

The  student  work  has  not  escaped  criticism  in  spite  of  its  pro- 
found influence.  Former  President  Pritchett  of  the  Massachusetts 
Institute  of  Technology,  while  recognizing  fully  the  great  service 
rendered,  stated  that  in  his  observation  the  work  of  the  college 
Association  had  "been  in  the  main  along  the  lines  of  social  and 
economic  aid,"  and  that  "there  has  seldom  appeared  the  leader 
who  was  able  to  deal  with  the  larger  problems  of  college  religious 

'  The  year  1889  marks  the  event  most  significant  as  differentiation  from  the 
Christian  Endeavor  movement,  viz.,  the  formation  of  the  Epworth  League.  It  is  also 
the  approximate  date  of  other  important  organizations  attaining  wide  recognition. 
It  should  be  noted,  however,  that  differentiation  began  within  a  few  years  after  1881. 

'  Ross  in  New  England  Mag.,  N.S.,  XXIV,  June,  1901. 

64 


THE   PERIOD   OF   DIFFERENTIATION  65 

life."'  The  real  greatness  of  the  Y.M.C.A.  is  seen  in  the  fact  that 
it  attempts  neither  denial  nor  explanation,  but  seriously  asks  itself 
if  these  things  are  true,  and  how  they  can  be  remedied.  This  is 
characteristic  of  all  its  work. 

The  secretarial  system  calls  for  a  word.  The  training  schools 
at  Springfield,  Massachusetts,  and  Chicago,  produce  men  well 
qualified  for  their  work.  Close  supervision  by  the  International 
Committee,  which  at  the  same  time  allows  large  freedom  for  per- 
sonal initiative,  keeps  all  activities  true  to  their  fundamental 
purpose  and  insures  efficiency. 

The  Associations  of  the  world  owned  in  191 1  property  valued 
at  $68,699,150.00,  three-fourths  of  which  was  owned  in  America. 

A  number  of  points  regarding  the  Christian  Endeavor  society 
call  for  brief  consideration.  Mention  has  been  made  of  the  decline 
of  the  great  convention.  This  has  been  due  partly  to  the  growth 
of  other  societies  in  which  young  people  are  interested,  but  also 
to  the  increasing  value  of  the  small  convention,  and  especially  to 
the  development  of  the  institute  for  training  leaders.  This  is  true 
for  all  church  societies.  The  institute  for  Christian  workers  is  a 
direct  outgrowth  of  the  pubhc  school  teachers'  institute.  Rev. 
(now  Bishop)  J.  H.  Vincent  in  1857  carried  on  in  his  church  at 
Joliet,  Illinois,  a  normal  class  for  his  Sunday-school  teachers.  In 
i860,  he  conducted  a  similar  class  as  an  institute  at  Galena,  Illinois. 
The  idea  spread  rapidly.  Chautauqua  became  a  Sunday-school 
training  institute  in  1873.^  This  was  the  soil  out  of  which  grew 
the  Northfield  summer  conferences  for  students  and  the  institute 
for  young  people's  society  workers.  The  first  of  these  latter  was 
a  Christian  Endeavor  institute  at  Yarmouth,  Maine,  in  1892. 
These  institutes  are  now  very  common. 

One  of  the  great  problems  of  Christian  Endeavor  work  has  been 
that  of  sustaining  the  interest  of  members  in  the  movement.^  One 
of  the  ways  adopted  to  secure  this  end  has  been  the  various 
enrolment  plans  promulgated  from  time  to  time.  The  Tenth 
Legion  is  one  of  the  most  significant,  composed  of  those  who  enrol 

'  The  Independent,  LXVI,  847,  April  22,  1909. 

^  Brown,  Sunday  School  Movements  in  America;  Cope,  Evolution  of  the  Sunday 
School. 

^  W.  T.  Ellis  in  The  Independent,  LIII,  1900;  August  15,  1901. 


66  THE  YOUNG  PEOPLE'S   MOVEMENT 

as  giving  a  tenth  of  their  income  to  religious  work.  This  originated 
in  New  York  in  1896,  and  was  adopted  at  the  international  conven- 
tion of  1897.  At  the  same  convention  was  launched  the  enrol- 
ment of  the  Comrades  of  the  Quiet  Hour,  consisting  of  those  who 
would  spend  fifteen  minutes  daily  in  private  devotions.  The 
Macedonian  Phalanx  was  composed  of  those  individuals  or  societies 
who  gave  $20.00  at  one  time  to  some  special  missionary  or  benev- 
olent object;  this  was  later  given  up.  These  and  similar  enrol- 
ments have  not  been  organizations  but  simply  lists  of  those  to  whom 
the  given  idea  appealed  and  who  entered  upon  its  observance. 
\    ■'  The  employment  of  the  paid  state  secretary  marks  a  distinct 

change  of  policy.  When  Dr.  Clark  became  president,  and  fre- 
quently thereafter,  he  enunciated  the  doctrine  that  the  organization 
should  maintain  no  paid  officials.  But  the  logic  of  events  has  been 
too  strong.  Societies  have  died  out  for  lack  of  a  little  encourage- 
ment; other  groups  of  young  people  could  easily  have  been  organ- 
ized with  a  little  assistance;  the  example  of  denominations  that 
have  employed  paid  officials  or  used  their  denominational  organi- 
zation to  push  their  recognized  societies  has  been  ever  before  the 
eyes  of  Endeavorers.  The  result  could  easily  be  foreseen.  In  1901, 
Ohio  engaged  the  first  paid  secretary,  and  since  that  time  the  plan 
has  been  taken  up  in  many  states,  though  few  as  yet  employ  a 
secretary  for  all  his  time.  Illinois  reported  in  1912,  after  one  year's 
work  of  such  a  secretary,  107  societies  reorganized,  and  "seven 
hundred  and  sixty-eight  other  societies  added  to  the  rolls. "^ 

The  continued  growth  of  the  Christian  Endeavor  movement  has 
been  great.  The  number  of  members  is  counted  by  millions. 
It  is  not,  however,  a  matter  of  small  importance  to  ask  what  value 
is  to  be  attached  to  these  figures.  The  example  of  the  Ep worth 
League  is  instructive.  For  years  they  reported  membership  by 
hundred  thousands. 

A  cross  file  showing  charters  issued  to  any  given  locality  was  first  created 
in  1905;  and  it  was  found  that  in  a  large  number  of  instances  three  senior 
charters  had  been  issued  to  the  same  appointment,  the  earlier  chapters  dying 
and  being  succeeded  by  others.  In  a  still  larger  number  of  cases  two  charters 
were  issued  in  this  way.  Thousands  of  other  charters  had  been  issued  to  rural 
chapters  that  had  passed  out  of  existence. 

'  Year  Book,  Chicago  Christian  Endeavor  Union,  1912,  p.  45. 


THE  PERIOD  OF  DIFFERENTIATION  67 

The  first  serious  attempt  recorded  to  learn  the  actual  strength  of  the 
League  was  made  by  the  General  Secretary  in  the  latter  part  of  1904.  Through 
their  presiding  elders,  accurate  reports  were  secured  from  fifty  districts,  well 
distributed  throughout  the  church.  The  number  of  senior  charters  issued 
in  these  districts  was  2,873.  The  actual  number  of  chapters  was  1,714.  Apply- 
ing this  ratio  of  shrinkage  to  the  number  of  senior  charters  issued  for  the  whole 
church,  May  15,  1904,  gives  12,915  senior  chapters  possibly  existing  (as 
opposed  to  22,141  reported  in  1904)  at  that  time.  This  estimate,  however, 
may  have  been  too  great,  as  reports  are  most  obtainable  from  districts  above 
the  average  in  condition.' 

In  19 10,  the  Epworth  Herald  said:  "The  Methodist  Year  Book 
for  1910  contains  the  first  reliable  summary  of  Epworth  League 
statistical  reports  ever  given. "^ 

If  a  closely  organized  denomination  declares  that  the  reports 
of  its  young  people's  societies  for  21  years  are  41  per  cent  too  large, 
and  thinks  45  per  cent  inflation  more  nearly  correct,  it  is  obvious 
how  entirely  unreliable  the  so-called  statistics  of  Christian  En- 
deavor, Baptist  Union,  and  other  societies  must  be  which  have 
no  means  of  checking  up  returns.  In  191 1,  the  Illinois  Christian 
Endeavor  Union  reported  1,029  societies.  The  new  secretary 
found  that  282  of  these  had  disbanded,  that  107  were  not  running, 
and  his  report  does  not  profess  to  be  complete.^  Computed  on 
this  basis,  however,  there  was  an  inflation  of  37.8  per  cent.  We 
can  safely  say  that  at  least  45  per  cent  of  the  reported  membership 
of  all  societies  which  are  not  able  to  demand  accurate  yearly  reports 
is  ''water." 

We  turn  now  to  consider  a  group  of  new  societies,  which  may 
be  regarded  as  differentiations  from  the  Christian  Endeavor  move- 
ment. The  rise  of  a  new  organization  appealing  for  a  constituency 
to  people  already  conversant  with  an  organization  somewhat 
similar  suggests  that  the  earher  society  is  considered  in  some  respect 
inadequate  to  fit  the  situation ;  that  is,  it  implies  criticism  or  protest. 
When  the  new  organization  is  received  with  continued  favor  by 
any  considerable  body  of  people,  we  must  understand  not  only 
that  these  people  indorse  the  criticism,  but  that  the  new  society 
meets  their  needs  as  the  earher  did  not.     The  numerical  success 

'  Epworth  Herald,  XXIII  (1912),  p.  336.  ="  Ibid.,  XXI  (1910),  208. 

5  Year  Book,  Chicago  Christian  Endeavor  Union,  191 2,  p.  45. 


y- 


68  THE   YOUNG   PEOPLE'S   MOVEMENT 

of  any  organization,  however,  does  not  indicate  the  value  of  all  its 
ideals,  nor  the  worth  of  the  ideals  regarded  as  primary  by  its  leaders. 
Thousands  of  Good  Templars  belong  to  the  organization,  not  be- 
cause of  its  temperance  principles,  though  they  believe  in  them, 
but  because  their  friends  are  there,  and  this  affords  them  a  recog- 
nized meeting-place.  The  successful  propagandist  is  he  who  is 
able  to  utilize  primary  instincts  to  float  his  enterprise.  The  enter- 
prise of  greatest  value  to  its  members  and  ultimately  to  the  world 
is  that  in  which  fundamental  human  desires  and  needs,  both  indi- 
vidual and  social,  are  made  the  primary  elements.  The  new 
organizations  of  this  period  mark  a  protest  against  limited  or  false 
standards,  and  indicate  a  search  for  more  adequate  ideals.  The 
most  important  result  thus  far  is  the  conviction  that  no  single 
type  of  religion  or  form  of  activity  will  command  the  enthusiastic 
allegiance  of  all  evangelical  Christians,  not  to  speak  of  the  vast 
masses  outside  these  groups.  The  immediate  consequence  is  the 
impracticability  of  setting  up  one  standard  form  of  organization 
or  ideal  of  religious  experience  or  expression  for  all  communities 
and  communions,  and  for  different  types  of  church  within  the  same 
communion.  The  corollary  is  that  each  denomination,  each  com- 
munity, and  each  church  must  study  itself,  determine  its  needs, 
and  act  accordingly.  From  this  standpoint  we  shall  consider  some 
of  the  more  important  variations  from  current  ideals. 

Of  denominational  organizations  we  shall  study  two  regarded 
as  typical:  the  Epworth  League,  representing  the  connectional 
society,  and  the  Baptist  Young  People's  Union  of  America,  embody- 
ing the  federal  principle.  We  shall  give  a  sketch  of  their  histories 
and  note  some  elements  of  protest. 

The  Epworth  League. — The  Epworth  League  is  to  be  traced  to 
the  lyceum  started  in  Philadelphia  prior  to  1872,  which  secured 
recognition  from  the  General  Conference  of  1876.  This  was  not  a 
success,  and  about  1884  Bishop  J.  H.  Vincent  began  to  organize 
Oxford  Leagues,^  for  which  he  secured  the  approval  of  the  Centen- 
ary Conference  at  Baltimore,  1884,  and  adoption  by  the  Methodist 
Sunday-School  Union,  on  December  17, 1884,  with  the  appointment 
of  a  board  of  control.     Its  aims  were  ambitious: 

'  Epworth  Herald,  May  16,  1891;  Vincent,  ibid.,  June  14,  1890. 


THE  PERIOD  OF  DIFFERENTIATION  69 

(i)  To  study  the  Holy  Scriptures  with  a  view  to  the  promotion  of  personal 
piety;  (2)  to  become  familiar  with  the  biblical  origin  of  the  doctrines,  spirit 
and  methods  which  characterize  their  own  church  .  .  .  .  ;  (4)  to  trace  the 
origin  of  the  modern  evangelical  revival  known  as  Methodism  .  .  .  .  ;  (5)  to 
promote  personal  consecration  to  practical  work  .  .  .  .  ;  (6)  to  promote 
intellectual  training  under  the  auspices  of  the  church  among  those  who  no 
longer  attend  school  .  .  .  .  ;  (7)  to  .  .  .  .  publish  and  circulate  permanent 
documents  devoted  to  the  history,  philosophy,  doctrines,  and  institutions  of 
Methodism. 

Each  member  was  required  to  pursue  courses  of  study,  to  attend 
the  public  services  of  the  church,  to  contribute  each  year  to  each 
benevolence  of  the  church,  and  to  assist  the  pastor  in  practical  work, 
A  uniform  constitution  was  required  of  each  society.  The  League 
was  indorsed  by  the  General  Conference  of  1888,  and  by  May, 
1889,  there  were  about  five  hundred  societies.^ 

The  Young  People's  Methodist  Alliance''  was  born  at  the 
Des  Plaines  camp  meeting,  in  1883,  among  a  group  of  people  seeking 
entire  sanctification.  Organization  was  effected  under  the  title 
''Young  People's  Christian  Alliance,"  and  a  pledge  adopted.  In 
1885,  the  constitution  was  made  national  in  character,  the  name 
"Young  People's  Methodist  Alliance"  was  taken,  and  the  Alliance 
Herald  authorized.  Its  badge  was  a  white  ribbon  with  a  scarlet 
thread  running  lengthwise,  and  one  of  its  three  mottoes  was,  "We 
live  to  make  our  own  church  a  power  in  the  land,  while  we  live  to 
love  every  church  that  exalts  our  Christ."^  In  the  spring  of  1889, 
there  were  410  alliances. 

The  Young  People's  Christian  League"*  was  organized  in  Boston 
in  1887,  under  authority  of  a  resolution  of  the  Boston  preachers' 
meeting.  Its  purpose  was  to  federate  existing  gilds,  lyceums, 
bands,  etc.,  in  Methodist  churches,  without  change  of  name  or 
constitution,  and  to  organize  societies  in  churches  having  none. 
Reading-courses  were  outlined  and  prayer-meeting  topics  prepared. 
Its  motto,  "Look  up  and  lift  up,"  was  suggested  by  Bishop  Vincent. 
By  1889,  it  had  auxiliaries  in  New  England,  New  York,  Ohio, 
Georgia,  South  Carolina,  Texas,  and  Dakota. 

'  Epworth  Herald,  December  6,  1890;  May  16,  1891. 

^  Ibid.,  May  16,  1891. 

3  Written  by  Bishop  Simpson. 

<  Epworth  Herald,  March  14,  1891;  May  16,  1891. 


yo  THE  YOUNG  PEOPLE'S   MOVEMENT 

Two  other  general  societies  of  less  importance,  the  Methodist 
Young  People's  Union  (founded  in  Detroit,  Michigan,  in  Novem- 
ber, 1887)  and  the  Methodist  Episcopal  AlHance  of  the  North 
Ohio  Conference  (organized  in  Ashland,  Ohio,  in  September,  1888), 
secured  a  local  following. 

In  addition  to  these  societies  (1,000  in  number),  there  were  at 
least  twice  as  many  Christian  Endeavor  societies,  and  a  considerable 
number  of  Young  People's  Associations  and  other  independent 
organizations.  The  large  societies  were  competing  strenuously, 
and,  although  young  people's  societies  were  rapidly  being  organized, 
a  condition  of  tension  was  produced.  In  this  situation  representa- 
tives of  the  five  Methodist  societies  met  in  Cleveland,  Ohio,  May  14, 
1889,  and  united  to  form  the  Ep worth  League.^  The  mottoes  of  the 
Y.P.C.L.  and  the  Y.P.M.A.  were  taken  over,  and  also  the  badge 
of  the  latter.  The  organization  adopted  was  in  general  that  of  the 
Oxford  League.  The  Sunday-School  Union  and  the  Tract  Society 
financed  the  new  organization  until  1892,  though  from  the  first 
meeting  of  the  board  of  control  (1890)  an  annual  collection  for  the 
expenses  of  the  general  office  was  asked  from  each  society,  and  a 
charter  fee  of  twenty -five  cents  was  charged  each  League  registering 
at  headquarters.  Our  Youth,  a  paper  started  by  Bishop  Vincent 
December  5,  1885,  was  made  over  into  the  Epworth  Herald,  and  its 
first  number  issued  June  7,  1890. 

With  the  union  of  these  rival  societies,  Methodists  everywhere 
began  to  fall  in  line,  and  not  a  few  Christian  Endeavor  societies 
became  Epworth  Leagues.  It  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  that  the 
Christian  Endeavor  officials  should  seek  to  stem  the  current. 
Pamphlets,  containing  opinions  from  Methodist  ministers  favorable 
to  Christian  Endeavor,  were  sent  out  from  the  Christian  Endeavor 
publishing  house  to  Methodist  pastors  and  others — an  act  which, 
however  natural,  was  scarcely  in  good  taste.^  An  official  protest 
from  the  United  Society  of  Christian  Endeavor  was  presented  to 
the  board  of  control  of  the  League  about  the  same  time.     It  says: 

We  feel  that  this  name  [Christian  Endeavor]  and  these  principles 
[prayer-meeting  pledge,  consecration  meeting,  dual  membership,  and  lookout 

'  Buckley,  History  of  Methodists  in  the  United  States,  1896,  p.  673;  Epworth  Herald  1 
December  2,  1893,  p.  458. 

»  Epworth  Herald,  October  4,  1890,  p.  9. 


THE   PERIOD   OF   DIFFERENTIATION  71 

committee]  should  be  allowed  to  remain  together,  and  that  to  adopt  the  name 
without  the  principles,  or  the  principles  without  the  name,  will  produce  con- 
fusion and  is  not  fair  to  the  Christian  Endeavor  society.^ 

The  board  of  control  in  reply  cited  some  of  the  facts  previously 
noted  in  this  chapter.  Early  in  1892,  Dr.  Clark  met  the  board  of 
control  and  asked  that  the  Christian  Endeavor  societies  be  not 
interfered  with.  The  board  assured  him  that  no  pressure  had  been 
or  would  be  brought  to  bear  upon  Christian  Endeavor  societies 
to  become  Epworth  Leagues.  They  suggested  that  a  young 
people's  evangehcal  alhance  be  formed  in  cities  and  towns,  to  which 
Dr.  Clark  assented,  providing  existing  Christian  Endeavor  unions 
remained  intact.  The  board  appointed  a  committee  on  fraternal 
relations  to  meet  with  a  similar  committee  from  the  Christian 
Endeavor  society.  The  latter  committee  was  appointed  three  and 
a  half  years  later.^ 

The  further  official  relations  between  the  two  societies  have 
been  polite,  not  cordial.  The  Epworth  League  has  from  the  first 
professed  its  willingness  to  form  a  federation  with  the  Christian 
Endeavor  society,  but  has  declined  to  change  its  name,  with  the 
probable  result  of  encouraging  the  use  of  Christian  Endeavor  litera- 
ture. It  has  been  a  source  of  irritation  that  the  Christian  Endeavor 
society  has  refused  to  receive  fraternal  delegates  from  any  other 
society,  and  that  state,  county,  and  city  Christian  Endeavor 
unions  have  been  advised  to  follow  the  same  rule.  In  many  cases 
they  have  used  their  own  judgment,  but  this  has  not  been  universal. 
The  Christian  Endeavor  leaders  have  left  no  stone  unturned  to 
secure  the  adoption  by  the  church  of  the  name  Christian  Endeavor, 
or  Epworth  League  of  Christian  Endeavor  as  an  alternative  designa- 
tion. In  one  case  committees  from  the  two  societies  had  agreed 
on  the  latter  name,  but  the  board  of  control  refused  its  sanction, 
and  the  General  Conference  was  even  more  decided  when  an  appeal 
was  taken  to  it.  It  cannot  be  said  that  the  attitude  of  the  Golden 
Rule  has  been  conducive  to  good  feeling.  In  1895  the  editor  of  the 
Epworth  Herald  wrote:    "During  the  entire  career  of  the  Epworth 

^Epworth  Herald,  November  15,  1890.     Cf.  a  similar  statement,  adopted  at  the 
Christian  Endeavor  convention  of  1891,  in  Golden  Rule,  October  i,  1891. 
'  Epworth  Herald,  II,  620, 1892;  VI,  331, 1895. 


^2  THE   YOUNG  PEOPLE'S  MOVEMENT 

Herald  the  Golden  Rule  has  never  once  referred  to  us  in  a  kindly 
way  and  has  never  mentioned  our  name  except  to  criticize."' 
Many  Christian  Endeavor  leaders  denounced  the  League  bitterly, 
and  accused  it,  for  the  most  part  mistakenly,  of  having  stolen 
Christian  Endeavor  principles.  On  the  other  hand,  the  attitude 
of  the  Herald  was  rather  condescending,  owing  to  the  rapid  growth 
of  the  League  and  the  fact  that  its  subscription  list  soon  passed 
that  of  the  Golden  Rule,  a  lead  which  it  has  ever  since  maintained. 
Moreover,  the  church  sedulously  weeded  out  the  Christian  En- 
deavor societies,  and  succeeded  so  well  that  there  were  said  to  be 
only  150  in  1905,  of  which  57  were  in  Philadelphia.^  It  can  hardly 
be  disputed,  however,  that  the  weekly  young  people's  prayer- 
meeting  as  a  universal  institution  among  Methodists  and  the 
general  interest  in  youth  were  at  least  largely  stimulated  by  the 
rapid  growth  and  great  enthusiasm  of  Christian  Endeavor. 
'  At  the  General  Conference  of  1892,  the  Epworth  League  was 
formally  adopted.  Its  object  was  stated  to  be  "to  promote  intel- 
ligent and  loyal  piety  in  the  young  members  and  friends  of  the 
church,  to  aid  them  in  the  attainment  of  purity  of  heart  and  con- 
stant growth  in  grace,  and  to  train  them  in  works  of  mercy  and 
help."  Any  local  organization  might  become  a  chapter  when  it 
adopted  the  aims  and  plans  of  the  League,  when  its  plans  and 
officers  were  approved  by  the  pastor  and  official  board,  and  when 
it  was  enrolled  at  the  head  office.  Unless  it  became  explicitly  an 
Epworth  League,  however,  it  was  only  an  affiliated  society  with 
limited  privileges.  The  general  board  of  control  was  to  consist 
of  29  members,  15  appointed  by  the  bishops,  of  whom  one,  a  bishop, 
should  be  president;  the  other  14  members  were  to  be  elected,  one 
from  each  conference  district.  Provision  was  made  for  an  editor 
and  a  general  secretary. 

A  footnote  to  the  Constitution,^  providing  that  no  legislation 
then  proposed  ''is  intended  to  disturb  the  present  status  of  other 

I  Epworth  Herald,  February  9,  1895;  p.  589. 

'Ibid.,  XV,  1341,  May  27,  1905.  Cf.  The  Independent,  XLIX,  398;  Golden 
Rule,  July  25,  1895,  p.  975;  Christian  Endeavor  World,  XXV,  60;  Epworth  Herald, 
August  9,  1890;  September  13,  1890;  and  August  29,  1891. 

^  Ibid.,  July  2,  1892. 


THE   PERIOD   OF   DIFFERENTIATION  73 

young  people's  societies  now  organized  in  Methodist  Episcopal 
churches  which  are  under  the  control  of  the  pastor  and  quarterly- 
conference,"  led  to  misunderstanding,  Endeavorers  interpreting  it 
to  mean  a  measure  of  official  recognition  to  Christian  Endeavor 
societies.    That  interpretation  was,  however,  oflficially  contradicted. 

The  expectation  was  unanimously  expressed  [at  the  General  Conference] 
that  before  long  every  society  in  the  church  would  become  an  Epworth  League. 
It  was  stated,  however,  that  some  Christian  Endeavor  societies  were  not  yet 
quite  ready  to  become  Epworth  Leagues.  We  were  therefore  asked  to  insert 
the  clause  ....  giving  assurance  ....  that  they  were  not  to  be  arbitrarily 
disturbed  before  they  were  ready  to  come  into  the  League  by  their  own  har- 
monious action I  do  not  believe  there  was  one  out  of  the  five  hundred 

delegates  who  does  not  hope  and  expect  that  eventually  every  young  people's 
society  in  our  church  wUl  be  an  Epworth  League. 

The  constitution  which  local  leagues  were  required  to  adopt 
contained  some  important  elements.  The  pledge  was  left  optional 
with  each  society,  but,  if  adopted,  divided  the  membership  into 
active  and  associate.  The  pastor  was  ex  ofl&cio  a  member  of  the 
cabinet.  The  officers  must  have  the  sanction  of  the  pastor  and  the 
ofl&cial  board.  The  president  ordinarily  became  a  member  of 
the  quarterly  conference.  The  outline  of  activities  was  most  com- 
prehensive. 

To  detail  the  history  of  any  organization  is  outside  our  plan,  but 
some  items  will  be  illuminating.  The  growth  of  the  League,  with 
every  preacher,  district  superintendent,  and  bishop  supporting  it, 
was  phenomenal.  The  circulation  of  the  Herald  reached  125,000  in 
1904,  and  is  now  about  100,000.  The  League  was  adopted  virtually 
without  change  in  1890  by  the  Canadian  Methodist  church  and  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  South,  each  with  its  own  paper  and 
general  secretary.  The  decline  of  the  inspirational  convention  and 
the  development  of  the  summer  school  of  League  methods  is  part 
of  the  genera]  movement  among  young  people.  The  production, 
before  1907,  of  a  completely  graded  course  of  lessons  for  junior, 
intermediate,  and  senior  Leagues  is  notable.  In  the  place  of  further 
particulars,  Table  II,  placing  side  by  side  the  organization  of  the 
Oxford  League  activities  of  1888 — adopted  with  very  few  changes 
in  1892 — the  Epworth  League  "cross"  of  1903,  and  the  new  scheme 
of  1913,  will  reveal  many  significant  changes  of  emphasis. 


74 


TEE  YOUNG  PEOPLE'S  MOVEMENT 


The  Epworth  League  arose  as  a  fourfold  criticism.     It  was  a 
criticism    of    the    assumption,    which    interdenominationahsm  is 


TABLE  n 


Oxford  League,  1888 

Epworth  League,  igo3 

Epworth  League,  1913 

I.  Dept.    of    Christian    Work: 

I.  Dept.    of    Spiritual    Work: 

I.  Dept.    of    Spiritual    Work: 

First    vice-president,    chair- 

First   vice-president,    chair- 

First   vice-president,    chair- 

man 

man 

man 

I.  Weekly  prayer-meeting 

I.  Weekly  devotional  meet- 

I. Spiritual  welfare  of  mem- 

ing 

bers 

2.  Missionary  work 

2.  Spiritual  welfare  of  mem- 

2. Study    and    practice    of 

bers 

personal  evangelism 

3.  Spiritual  welfare  of  mem- 
bers 

4.  Christian     work     among 

3.  Personal  evangelism 

3.  Weekly  devotional  meet- 

4. Bible-study 

ing 
4.  Bible-study 

young 

5.  Sunday-school  interests 

5.  Morning  watch 

6.  Sunday-schooHnterests 

7.  Open-air  meetings 

8.  Junior  League 

II.  Dept.    of    Literary    Work: 

II.  Dept.  of  World  Evangelism: 

II.  Dept.  of  World  Evangelism: 

Second  vice-president,  chair- 

Second vice-president,  chair- 

Second vice-president,  chair- 

man 

man 

man 

I.  Lectures  and  literary  en- 

1. Study  of  church  benevo- 

I. Study    of    missions    and 

tertainments 

lences 

other  benevolences 

2.  Lyceum      reading-circles. 

2.  Christian  stewardship 

2.  Monthy  missionary  meet- 

libraries,  and   all   educa- 

ings 

tional  work 

3.  C.L.S.C.  readings 

3.  Missionary  committee 

3.  Study  of  Christian  stew- 
ardship 

4.  Definite  missionary  work 

4.  Oxford  League  readings 

4.  Mission  library  and  litera- 
ture _ 

5.  Mission-study  classes 

5.  Home  culture  circles 

6.  Missionary  meetings 

7.  Cycle  of  prayer  for  world 

evangelism 

III.  Dept.  of  Social  Work:  Third 

III.  Dept.  of  Mercy  and  Help: 

III.  Dept.     of     Social     Service: 

vice-president,  chairman 

Third  vice-president,  chair- 

Third vice-president,  chair- 

man 

man 

I.  All   sociables   and   social 

I.  Systematic  visitation 

1.  Mercy  and  help 

entertainments 

2.  Systematic  visitation 

2.  Care  of  poor  and  sick 

2.  Studies  in  social  service 

3.  Reception  and  introduc- 

3. Hospitals  and  other  chari- 

3. Good  citizenship 

tion  of  members 

ties 

4.  Look-up  Legion  work 

4.  Temperance  reform 

4.  Temperance   reform   and 
social  pxurity 

5.  Social  purity 

S.  Temperance  literature 

6.  Temperance 

6.  Temperance  study  classes 

7.  Social  purity 

8.  Good  citizenship 

IV.  Dept.     of     Entertainment: 

IV.  Department  of  Literary  and 

IV.  Dept.  of  Recreation  and  Cul- 

Fourth vice-president,  chair- 

Social  Work:    Fourth  vice- 

ture:   Fourth  vice-president, 

man 

president,  chairman 

chairman 

I.  Music   for   all   meetings; 

I.  General  literary  culture 

I.  Athletics 

selection  of  chorister 

2.  Excursions  and  picnics 

2.  Lecture  courses 

2.  Social  entertainments  and 

3.  Amusements  for  all  meet- 

3. Committee    on    Epworth 

music 
3.  New    members;     circula- 

ings 

Herald 

tion  of  Epworth  Herald 

4.  Home  mission  work 

4.  Reading-courses    and    li- 
braries _ 

5.  Promotion  of  social  life  in 

4.  Literary  meetings 

S.  Badges  and  signals 

the  church 

6.  Children's  Day  exercises 

6.  Seeking  new  members 

7.  Music  for  all  meetings 

8.  Social  entertainments 

always  apt  to  make,  that  the  peculiar  doctrines,  practices,  and 
spirit  of  Methodism  were  of  relatively  small  importance.  With  the 
exception  of  a  small  minority,  the  Methodist   denomination  did 


THE   PERIOD   OF   DIFFERENTIATION  75 

not  believe  that.  They  objected  to  their  young  people  absorb- 
ing as  a  steady  diet  the  literature  which  constantly  made  that 
assumption,  or  which  was  not  in  a  position  to  emphasize  aspects 
of  history  and  religious  experience  which  Methodism  held  dear. 
At  the  very  least,  it  was  an  instance  of  the  good  being  an  enemy  of 
the  best;  at  the  worst  it  was  an  undermining  of  the  very  foundations 
of  their  church.  Their  interest  was  both  ecclesiastical  and  personal : 
they  were  convinced  not  only  that  the  church  was  in  danger,  but 
that  their  young  people  would  fail  to  attain  a  well-rounded  spiritu- 
ality, and  that  the  world  would  be  by  so  much  the  poorer.  As  a 
matter  of  fact  the  Epworlh  Herald  from  its  first  number  breathed  a 
spirit  of  evangelism  which  the  Christian  Endeavor  World  has  never 
attained. 

The  United  Society  of  Christian  Endeavor  virtually  acknowl- 
edged the  justice  of  this  criticism,  for  while  in  1889  they  had 
"deprecated  the  running  of  denominational  lines  through  the 
Christian  Endeavor  movement,"^  in  1892,  at  the  New  York  conven- 
tion, denominational  rallies  were  held  for  the  first  time,  and  these 
have  been  a  feature  of  each  successive  gathering. 

It  was  a  protest  against  the  failure  of  the  ordinary  church  to 
organize  its  young  people's  society  as  a  part  of  its  organic  life.  It 
has  been  frequent  cause  of  complaint  against  the  young  people's 
society  in  general  that  it  stands  out  as  an  independent  entity, 
having  no  organic  relations  with  the  Sunday  school  on  the  one  hand, 
or  with  the  church  organization  on  the  other;  that  it  recruits  itself, 
not  from  the  Sunday  school  or  church,  as  such,  but  by  the  organiza- 
tion and  direction  of  junior  and  intermediate  societies  after  its  own 
kind;  that  its  only  connection  with  the  church  has  been  the  fact 
that  many  of  its  members  belong  to  the  church  or  Sunday  school, 
and  that  it  uses  the  church  building  without  paying  rent.  In  the 
case  of  a  Christian  Endeavor  society,  its  plans  are  formulated  by 
an  agency  outside  of  both  church  and  denomination,  the  plans  have 
little  if  any  reference  to  other  departments  of  church  work,  and  the 
official  board  of  the  church  is  seldom  asked  to  pass  upon  them.  To 
the  reply  that  the  particular  church  is  entirely  to  blame  for  that 
state  of  affairs,  the  Methodists  answered :  We  do  not  care  to  expose 

'  Rev.  M.  G.  Kyle,  in  The  Independent,  XLIV,  934. 


y6  THE   YOUNG   PEOPLE'S   MOVEMENT 

our  churches  and  pastors  to  that  possibility,  but  propose  to 
organize  our  young  people's  society  as  an  integral  part  of  the 
church  and  denominational  life.  Thus  the  pastor  is  explicitly 
made  a  member  of  the  local  cabinet,  the  officers  must  be  ap- 
proved by  the  official  board  of  the  church,  the  president  becomes 
a  member  of  the  quarterly  conference,  and  the  plans  of  the 
League  as  a  whole  and  the  policy  of  the  paper  are  determined 
by  responsible  members  of  the  church  and  made  to  harmonize 
with  its  general  aims. 

The  formation  of  the  League  was  a  criticism  of  the  inadequacy 
of  the  Christian  Endeavor  ideal  of  religion  and  of  the  methods  to 
be  employed  in  developing  the  religious  life.  That  ideal  consists, 
according  to  the  pledge,  in  striving  to  do  whatever  Christ  would 
have  one  do.  If  this  general  statement  were  left  by  itself,  no  one 
could  offer  any  objection.  But  it  is  an  obvious  principle  of  inter- 
pretation that  when  a  general  statement  is  followed  by  a  series  of 
particular  statements,  the  latter  are  the  explication  of  the  former. 
And  when  one  asks  what,  on  Christian  Endeavor  standards, 
Christ  would  have  one  do,  the  answer  is:  Read  the  Bible  and  pray, 
attend  prayer-meeting  and  take  part.  "Being  true  to  all  one's 
duties"  is  simply  what  the  "moral"  man  does;  these  others  are 
the  specifically  Christian  demands.  There  is  an  utter  absence  of 
all  explicit  reference  to  brotherly  helpfulness,  which  Jesus  declared 
to  be  a  full  half  of  true  religion.  The  Epworth  League  was  organized 
on  an  all-round  conception  of  life,  including  not  alone  the  devo- 
tional, but  the  literary,  recreational,  and  philanthropic  elements 
as  well.  The  League  has  learned  much  since,  but  to  it  was  given 
the  broader  vision. 

Finally,  the  League  was  a  protest  against  the  use  of  the  pledge, 
as  shown  by  the  fact  that  the  pledge  was  made  optional  with  the 
individual  society.  It  ought  to  be  said  that  the  form  of  pledge 
offered  by  the  League  to  those  societies  desiring  one  revealed  no 
new  principles  of  pledge-making  beyond  the  introduction  of  a 
prohibition,  and  in  this  respect  it  was  distinctly  inferior  to  the 
Christian  Endeavor  pledge.  This  element  persists  even  in  the 
pledge  of  1 9 13. 

•  Epworth  Herald,  XXIV  (1913),  P-  587. 


THE   PERIOD   OF  DIFFERENTIATION  77 

In  reaction  against  this  criticism,  the  vaHdity  of  which  it  denied, 
the  Christian  Endeavor  society  about  this  time  promulgated  the 
so-called  ''cast-iron"  pledge,  as  follows: 

Trusting  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  for  strength,  I  promise  Him  that  I  will 
strive  to  do  whatever  He  would  like  to  have  me  do;  that  I  will  make  it  the  rule 
of  my  Hfe  to  pray  and  read  the  Bible  every  day,  and  to  support  my  own  church, 
in  every  way,  especially  by  attending  all  her  regular  Sunday  and  midweek 
services,  unless  prevented  by  some  reason  which  I  can  conscientiously  give  to 
my  Savior;  and  that  just  so  far  as  I  know  how,  throughout  my  whole  life,  I  will 
endeavor  to  lead  a  Christian  life.  As  an  Active  Member  I  promise  to  be  true 
to  all  my  duties,  to  be  present  at  and  to  take  some  part,  aside  from  singing,  in 
every  Christian  Endeavor  prayer-meeting,  unless  hindered  by  some  reason 
which  I  can  conscientiously  give  to  my  Lord  and  Master.  If  obliged  to  be 
absent  from  the  monthly  consecration  meeting  of  the  society,  I  will,  if  possible, 
send  at  least  a  verse  of  Scripture  to  be  read  in  response  to  my  name  at  the 
roll  call. 

We  take  this  opportunity  to  complete  what  we  have  to  say  of 
the  pledge.  Of  55  Chicago  pastors,  representing  all  the  leading 
communions  and  selected  without  any  knowledge  whatever  of  their 
opinions,  only  7  were  in  favor  of  the  pledge;  16  declined  to  express 
an  opinion;  15  gave  qualified  approval  (e.g.,  ''valuable  if  lived 
up  to");  and  17  opposed  the  pledge,  their  expressions  running  ail 
the  way  from  "It  is  contrary  to  the  spirit  of  spiritual  rehgion,"  to 
"We  do  not  regard  perjury  as  a  means  of  grace."  How  far  this 
attitude  is  general  it  is  impossible  to  say,  but  it  seems  probable 
that  it  fairly  represents  the  convictions  of  thoughtful  men.  In 
response  to  much  criticism,  the  United  Society  has  issued  two  other 
pledges,  both  much  shorter.  But  are  even  these  made  to  be  kept  ? 
Dr.  Clark  and  his  fellow  Endeavorers  give  us  to  understand  that 
they  are  to  be  interpreted  liberally,  for  in  the  efficiency  campaign 
of  1911-1913  one  of  the  points  set  for  a  standard  society  is  that 
"three-fourths  of  members  respond  at  consecration  meetings  in 
person  or  by  message."  In  this  same  campaign,  an  "effective 
Endeavorer  "  was  one  who  among  other  things  attended"  three-fifths 
of  the  society  prayer-meetings  for  five  months."  It  is  not  regarded 
as  a  possibility  that  all  who  promise  Jesus  Christ  either  to  be  present 
at  or  to  send  a  message  to  the  monthly  consecration  meeting  will 
keep  their  promise.     A  "standard"  society  is  one  in  which  only 


78  THE   YOUNG  PEOPLE'S   MOVEMENT 

one  in  four  breaks  the  most  solemn  vow  conceivable.  As  it  is 
with  the  consecration  meeting,  so  it  is  with  other  parts  of  the  pledge. 
On  Dr.  Clark's  own  figures,  24  per  cent  of  Endeavorers  pledged 
to  attend  all  the  regular  Sunday  and  midweek  meetings  practically 
never  go  to  the  church  prayer-meeting  or  the  Sunday  evening 
preachmg  service.'  How  it  fares  with  daily  Bible-reading  and 
personal  devotion,  with  being  "true  to  all  my  duties"  and  striving 
to  d6  "whatever"  Christ  would  have  one  do,  we  can  only  surmise, 
but  there  is  no  reason  to  believe  that  those  parts  of  the  pledge  are 
better  kept  than  the  others.  That  some  are  helped  by  the  pledge 
is  undoubted,  but  when  it  leads  to  moral  deterioration  for  one  in 
every  four,  something  is  surely  wrong.  The  real  fact  is  that  a  means 
of  religious  inspiration  of  unquestioned  value  has  been  made  an 
end  in  itself.  It  is  a  modern  instance  of  "man  being  made  for  "  an 
institution. 

If  one  were  to  point  out  some  weaknesses  of  the  Ep worth  League, 
one  might  mention  the  following: 

1.  It  takes  a  negative  attitude  toward  amusements.  The  thea- 
ter, the  dance,  the  card  table  are  singled  out  for  especial  condem- 
nation, and  very  little  of  value  is  suggested  in  their  place.  The 
reiterated  "Don'ts"  prove  what  is  common  knowledge,  that  young 
people  do  these  things;  and  the  tragedy  of  the  situation  became 
evident  when  the  most  prominent  leader  of  the  organization  perished 
in  the  Iroquois  Theater  fire  in  Chicago.  If  the  League  puts  the 
common  amusements  under  the  ban,  it  is  its  undeniable  duty  to 
provide  something  else  equally  attractive.     This  it  has  not  done. 

2.  Its  scheme  of  activities  is  logically  complete  but  psycho- 
logically fallacious.  To  work  so  complex  an  organization  requires 
the  skill  of  an  efficiency  engineer.  It  leaves  too  little  room  for 
initiative  or  for  the  joy  of  discovery.  It  is  a  burden  to  many 
societies.  It  seems  to  have  been  made  with  an  eye  to  logical  com- 
pleteness rather  than  on  the  basis  of  a  study  of  actual  conditions. 
The  only  society  in  which  it  is  really  at  home  is  in  a  large  city 

'  Cf.  also:  "One  hundred  and  four  societies  reporting  show  an  average  attendance 
at  the  midweek  prayer-meeting  of  over  34  per  cent  of  their  membership  and  of  more 
than  75  per  cent  at  the  Sunday  evening  service." — Chicago  Christian  Endeavor  Union, 
Report,  191 2-13,  p.  34. 


THE   PERIOD   OF  DIFFERENTIATION  79 

church.  The  practical  working  out  is  such  that  there  is  virtually 
no  difference  between  a  Christian  Endeavor  society  and  an  Epworth 
League. 

3.  It  is  ultra-Methodistic.  That  Methodism  has  elements  with- 
out which  the  world  would  be  distinctly  poorer  few  will  question. 
But  Methodists  themselves  grow  weary  of  the  denominational 
self-glorification.  Too  little  recognition  is  given  to  the  aspiration, 
endeavor,  and  achievement  of  the  rest  of  the  Christian  world,  a 
recognition  which  would  make  better  Methodists  and  surely  better 
Christians. 

A  final  word  ought  to  be  added.  Theoretically  at  least,  no  other 
church  organization  has  been  so  responsive  to  changing  conditions 
as  the  Epworth  League. 

The  Baptist  Young  People's  Union  of  America. — The  Baptist 
Union  arose  as  part  of  that  denominational  emphasis  initiated  by 
the  Methodists,  which  found  a  response  in  nearly  every  communion. 
The  Loyalist  movement,  so  called  from  a  suggested  motto,  "Loyalty 
to  Christ  in  all  things  at  all  times,"  started  in  Kansas  in  1887,  and 
was  indorsed  by  the  Baptist  State  Convention  of  1888.  Its  purpose, 
as  soon  became  clear,  was  to  organize  an  exclusive  society  of  Bap- 
tist young  people.  The  idea  was  welcomed  in  the  Middle  West, 
Kansas  Baptists  arranging  a  young  people's  program  at  their 
convention  of  1889,  and  inviting  the  young  people  to  attend. 
Nebraska  organized  a  state  convention  in  1889,  and  Iowa  in  1890. 
Chicago  formed  a  city  union  on  August  12,  1890.^ 

A  conference,  called  to  meet  in  Boston  in  1889,  met  in  Chicago 
in  1890,  and  was  attended  by  representatives  from  fifteen  states. 
It  was  agreed  that  no  existing  society  should  be  antagonized  in  the 
new  organization.  An  executive  committee  was  appointed  to 
study  the  problem  more  closely  and  to  prepare  plans  for  a  national 
convention.  In  October  of  this  year  two  ardent  advocates  started 
The  Loyalist,  and  in  its  columns  the  executive  committee  made  its 
first  statement,  which  was  important  as  showing  a  decided  opposi- 
tion to  a  pledge,  and  substituting  therefor  a  declaration.^ 

'  The  Loyalist,  I,  18;   Young  People  at  Work,  December  20,  1890. 
'  The  Loyalist,  October  16,  1890. 


/ 


8o  THE   YOUNG  PEOPLE'S  MOVEMENT 

The  discussion  was  nation-wide,  even  the  South,  with  its  pro- 
nounced antagonism  to  all  young  people's  societies  in  the  church, 
taking  some  part.  Loyal  Endeavorers  opposed  it  heartily,  one 
pastor  sending  a  circular  to  every  Baptist  minister  asking  him  to 
organize  a  Christian  Endeavor  society  in  his  church.^  As  in  the 
case  of  the  formation  of  the  Epworth  League,  the  United  Society 
of  Christian  Endeavor  took  a  hand  in  the  discussion,  sending  to 
Baptist  ministers  all  over  the  country  Baptist  articles  in  opposition.^ 
At  the  other  pole,  as  compared  with  those  who  thought  Christian 
Endeavor  sufficient  for  all  needs,  stood  the  Loyalists,  who  desired 
a  society  with  a  uniform  constitution  in  all  the  churches. 
The  largest  and  ablest  party  consisted  of  those  who  sought  a 
middle  ground,  and  found  it  in  a  federation  in  which  every  young 
people's  society  in  a  Baptist  church,  without  reference  to  name  or 
constitution,  should  be  enlisted. 
^'  At  this  juncture  the  American   Baptist   Publication   Society 

purchased  The  Loyalist,  and  changed  its  name  to  the  Young  People 
at  Work?  The  secretary  of  the  Society,  recognizing  the  gravity 
of  the  situation,  invited  representatives  of  all  parties  to  meet  at 
Philadelphia,  April  22,  1891,  for  friendly  discussion.  Two  of  the 
three  Baptist  trustees  of  the  Christian  Endeavor  society  were 
present,  and  everyone  was  heard.  The  result  was  the  "Basis 
of  Organization."''  The  new  society  should  be  a  federation  of  all 
young  people's  societies  in  Baptist  churches,  without  respect  to 
name  or  constitution.  The  Young  People  at  Work  was  to  be 
the  official  organ,  and  should  be  impartially  hospitable  to  all 
societies,  devoting  itself  "to  the  indoctrination  of  the  Baptist 
young  people  in  the  distinguishing  tenets  of  Baptist  churches," 
and  to  urging  hearty  co-operation  in  denominational  enterprises. 
Each  society  should  be  left  free  to  determine  into  what  measure 
of  interdenominational  fellowship  it  should  enter. 

This  document,  together  with  the  attention  paid  to  the  incipient 
organization  by  the  Publication  and  Home  Mission  societies  at 
the  anniversaries  in  May,  cleared  the  way  for  the  first  national 

'  Y.P.A.W.,  January  24,  1891.  ="  Ibid.,  April  18,  1891. 

i  Ibid.,  May  9,  1891;  Baptist  Union,  IV,  466,  857. 

^  Baptist  Union,  IV,  464;  Bacon,  Young  People's  Societies,  p.  226. 


^ 


THE   PERIOD   OF   DIFFERENTIATION  8l 

convention  of  the  Baptist  Young  People's  Union  of  America,  in 
Chicago,  July  7  and  8,  1891.  Over  fifteen  hundred  delegates 
assembled,  organization  was  effected,  and  national,  state,  and 
associational  constitutions  adopted.  It  was  the  only  national 
Baptist  society  in  existence.  The  object  was  stated  to  be  "the 
unification  of  the  Baptist  young  people;  their  increased  spirituality; 
their  stimulation  in  Christian  service ;  their  edification  in  Scripture 
knowledge;  their  instruction  in  Baptist  doctrine  and  history;  and 
their  enlistment  in  all  missionary  activity  through  existing  de- 
nominational organizations."  The  model  local  constitution,  not 
compulsory,  embraced  among  other  things  an  optional  pledge  and 
an  optional  organization  by  committees  or  departments.  The 
board  of  managers,  elected  by  this  delegated  body,  was  ordered 
to  engage  a  general  secretary,  preferably  a  layman,  and  to  open  a 
general  ofl&ce  in  Chicago. 

It  was  at  once  felt  to  be  necessary  that  the  Union  should  control  ^ 
its  own  paper,  inasmuch  as  it  was  a  national  organization  and  the 
A.B.P.S.  was  a  northern  society.  The  Young  People  at  Work 
was  purchased,  moved  to  Chicago,  and  called  the  Young  People's 
Union.  In  1894,  its  name  was  changed  to  the  Baptist  Union;  and 
in  1904  it  became  a  monthly  under  the  name  of  Service.  The  pur- 
chase of  the  paper,  the  payment  of  the  secretary,  and  the  conduct 
of  the  office  entailed  large  expense,  and  thus  began  a  long  struggle 
for  the  "founding  fund,"  which  was  not  finally  pledged  until 
November  30,  1901.  At  the  convention  of  1908,  it  was  stated  that 
for  the  first  time  in  its  history  the  Union  did  not  announce  a  deficit. 
The  financial  problem  was,  however,  constantly  before  the 
managers,  and  in  1908  the  A.B.P.S.  purchased  Service,  created  a 
Young  People's  Department,  and  gave  explicit  directions  to  its 
Sunday-school  missionaries  to  pay  especial  attention  to  young 
people's  work.  In  1910,  upon  petition,  the  Northern  Baptist 
Convention  (organized  1908)  appointed  a  Young  People's  Com- 
mission, which  in  191 1  became  a  permanent  department  of  the 
denomination.  In  191 2,  the  managers  of  the  B.Y.P.U.A.  were 
requested  to  convey  to  the  Commission  such  functions  as  would 
enable  it  to  "superintend  the  work  of  organization  of  young  people's 
societies  in  the  territory  of  the  Northern  Baptist  Convention, 


82  '  THE   YOUNG   PEOPLE'S   MOVEMENT 

together  with  the  inspirational  and  educational  work  therein." 
This  was  accordingly  done,  and  from  19 13  the  literature  of  the 
B.Y.P.U.A.,  so  far  as  it  relates  to  the  northern  states,  bears 
the  imprint:  ''The  American  Baptist  Publication  Society  and 
the  Northern  Baptist  Convention  through  its  Young  People's 
Commission."' 

The  official  relations  of  the  Union  with  the  Christian  Endeavor 
society  have  been  most  cordial. ""  After  the  first  fear  that  the 
Baptist  Union  was  to  be  an  exclusive  society,  there  came  to  be  the 
most  friendly  feeling.  The  Christian  Endeavor  officials  readily 
saw  the  necessity  for  a  denominational  union  from  the  facts  that 
in  1 89 1  there  were,  in  addition  to  perhaps  two  thousand  Baptist 
Christian  Endeavor  societies,  at  least  as  many  independent  organi- 
zations, most  of  which  simply  would  not  affiliate  with  the  Christian 
Endeavor  society;  that  there  were  considerably  over  twenty 
thousand  Baptist  churches  with  no  young  people's  society  of 
any  sort;  and  that  the  denomination  had  not  only  the  right 
but  the  responsibility  of  taking  its  young  people  under  its 
direction.  Within  the  denomination  there  has  been  considerable 
lack  of  adjustment.  An  official  pronouncement  of  191 1  declares: 
"It  has  been  found  difficult  to  convince  societies  of  other  names 
that  they  are  on  an  equal  footing  in  the  B.Y.P.U.A.  with  those 
societies  bearing  the  denominational  name,  or  that  it  was  possible 
to  maintain  a  dual  allegiance  with  equal  cordiality."^  For  this 
the  attitude  of  the  Christian  Endeavor  society  toward  the  Epworth 
League  is  responsible,  Baptist  Endeavorers  applying  to  their  own 
situation  statements  made  with  reference  to  quite  other  conditions. 
It  is  probable  that  the  Young  People's  Commission  will  end  this 
misunderstanding. 

The  genius  of  the  Baptist  Union  is  seen  in  a  resolution  passed 
at  the  first,  the  organizing,  convention:  ''Resolved,  That  this  con- 
vention urge  the  local  societies  to  devote  at  least  one  hour  a  week 
to  the  systematic  study  of  the  Bible,  and  that  we  request  the  Board 

'  Young  People's  Commission,  Report^  1913. 

^  Cf.  Golden  Rule,  June  4,  1891;  Y.P.A.W.,  June  13,  1891;  Christian  Endeavor 
World,  November  15,  1901;  Baptist  Union,  January  12,  1902. 

3  Report  of  the  Commission  on  Young  People's  Work,  191 1. 


THE   PERIOD   OF  DIFFERENTIATION  83 

of  Managers  to  arrange  such  a  course  of  study  and  provide  suitable 
material  for  the  same.'"     The  study  element,  embracing  a  field 
considerably  wider  than  study  of  the  Bible,  has  been  distinctive 
of  the  Union.     Series  of  studies  on  "The  Historical  Books  of  the 
Old  Testament,"   ''Work  with   the  Unsaved,"   "Dominant  Re- 
ligions," and  "The  Great  Commission  "  ran  through  the  paper  in 
189 1.     The  "Week  Night  Symposium,"  consisting  of  four  series, 
one  study  of  each  series  once  a  month,  began  December  9,  189 1, 
and  comprised  "Bible  Study,"   "Church  History  and  Polity," 
"Christian  Work  and  Missionary  Knowledge,"  and  "Science  and 
General  Literature."    At  the  convention  of  1893,  these  studies 
were  named  the  Christian  Culture  courses  (after  a  course  on  "  Chris- 
tian Culture"  given  by  Rev.  J.  H.  Campbell  of  New  York),^  and 
four-year  cycles  were  outlined.     The  Bible  Reader's  course,  begun 
in  the  fall  of  1892,  planned  to  read  the  Bible,  daily,  systematically, 
and  completely  in  the  period.     The  Conquest  Missionary  course, 
also  begun  in  1892,  set  itself  to  cover  the  mission  fields  of  the  world 
with  especial  reference  to  Baptist  missions.     The  Sacred  Literature 
course,  which  had  run  from  the  beginning,  included  "Messianic 
Expectation,"  "Life  of  Christ,"  "ApostoHc  Age,"  and  "Christian 
Ethics."     Similar  courses  were  prepared  for  the  juniors  in  1894 
and  thereafter,  and  four  notable  textbooks  for  an  advanced  course 
appeared  later.     These  studies  were  freely  acknowledged  to  be  of 
superior  merit,  the  Epworth  Herald,  for  instance,  saying:    "The 
Baptist  Union  excels  all  other  young  people's  societies  in  its  plans 
for  literary  and  bibUcal  culture."    The  way  had  been  prepared 
by  the  Chautauqua  reading-courses  and  the  American  Institute  of 
Sacred  Literature,  and  outline  studies  had  been  made  occasionally 
by  progressive  pastors  for  their  young  people,  notably  by  Dr. 
Erastus  Blakslee  in  1888,  whose  courses  grew  into  the  Bible  Study 
Union  graded  Sunday-school  lessons.     But  no  such  comprehensive 
plan  as  that  of  the  Baptist  Union  had  been  known  up  to  that  time. 
It  exerted  wide  influence,  similar  courses  being  prepared  by  Pres- 
byterians, United  Brethren,  Disciples,  and  others,  and  the  Golden 
Rule  fell  in  line  with  courses  on  "  Good  Citizenship  "  and  "  Missions  " 

'  Y.P.A.W.,  July  18,  1891. 

'  Young  People's  Union,  February  6, 1892. 


84  THE  YOUNG  PEOPLE'S  MOVEMENT 

in  1894.  In  particular,  the  Conquest  Missionary  courses  prepared 
the  way  for  the  great  mission-study  movement  in  the  churches  a 
decade  later. 

In  time  new  arrangements  were  seen  to  be  necessary.  At  a 
conference  in  1907  between  the  Union  and  the  missionary  societies, 
it  was  agreed  that  the  primary  responsibility  for  missionary  educa- 
tion lay  with  the  latter,  under  whose  direction  mission-study  classes 
should  be  organized,  the  Union  co-operating  to  the  fullest  extent, 
and  the  monthly  missionary  meeting  to  be  under  joint  direction. 
In  consequence,  the  Baptist  Young  People's  Forward  Mission 
Movement  was  announced  in  1907,  and  in  1908  this  was  merged 
into  the  Baptist  Forward  Movement  for  Missionary  Education, 
thus  co-ordinating  all  the  missionary  education  in  the  church. 
The  work  of  making  a  careful  survey  of  the  whole  field  of  the  de- 
nomination's educational  activities  fell  to  the  Convention's  Com- 
mission on  Moral  and  Religious  Education,  appointed  in  191 1. 
One  result  of  the  work  of  the  Young  People's  Commission  is  the 
hearty  commendation  of  the  Baptist  Union  courses  to  Baptist 
Endeavorers  by  the  United  Society  of  Christian  Endeavor,  for  the 
the  first  time  in  1913. 

Regarding  the  Baptist  Union  as  the  expression  of  dissatisfaction 
with  the  limitations  of  earlier  forms  of  organization,  particularly 
the  Christian  Endeavor  society,  we  note  as  elements  of  this  criticism 
the  following : 

1.  Its  optional  pledge  and  the  expHcit  statements  of  many 
leading  clergymen  indicate  a  protest  against  having  a  pledge  as  a 
central  feature  in  the  organization.  The  brevity  of  the  pledge 
suggested  for  those  desiring  one  is  also  significant  in  view  of  the 
fact  that  about  this  time  the  long,  "iron-clad"  Christian  Endeavor 
pledge  is  being  introduced. 

2.  As  a  denominational  organization,  it  is  a  criticism  of  an 
inherent  limitation  of  the  Endeavor  movement.  The  Christian 
Endeavor  Society  had  been  on  friendly  terms  with  the  Union,  but 
it  could  not  organize  a  denominational  society  or  provide  denomina- 
tional instruction. 

The  instructional  element  of  the  Union,  which  is  its  distinctive 
contribution  to  the  young  people's  movement,  declares  in  effect 


THE   PERIOD   OF  DIFFERENTIATION  85 

that  a  young  people's  society  which  is  essentially  a  prayer-meeting 
organization  is  only  partially  meeting  its  obligations.  The  Chris- 
tian Endeavor  leaders  had  feared  that  the  educational  work  would 
"destroy  the  spirituality  of  the  young  people's  movement,"^  that 
there  was  grave  danger  that  it  would  give  undue  prominence  to 
controversial  sentiments,  particularly  in  the  case  of  doctrinal  study. 
This  attitude  indicated  a  weakness  in  the  Christian  Endeavor 
organization,  partly  remediable,  as  its  excellent  courses  since  1894 
testify,  and  partly  inherent,  for  it  was  necessarily  limited  by  the 
convictions  of  the  narrowest  constituent  denomination.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  studies  of  the  Baptist  Union  offered  a  much  larger 
field  for  biblical  and  doctrinal  work,  and  it  gave  opportunity  for 
much  more  definite  application  in  its  missionary  courses.  If  the 
Baptist  courses  sometimes  left  the  student  wondering  what  other 
denominations  were  doing,  the  Christian  Endeavor  society  left 
him  in  doubt  concerning  what  any  denomination  was  seeking  to 
accomplish.  An  attempt  was  made  to  meet  this  weakness  by  the 
offerings  on  "Christian  Endeavor  Day"  to  some  specific  denomina- 
tional object,  but  this  could  hardly  be  said  to  be  more  than  a 
makeshift. 

3.  The  Baptist  Union  was  a  protest  against  the  unwillingness  of 
the  Christian  Endeavor  society  to  federate  with  other  young 
people's  societies.  The  Golden  Rule  said  that  the  Union's  "platform 
is  cathoHc  and  broad ;  as  such  we  heartily  approve  it,  and  wish  for 
its  sincere  advocates  a  full  and  glorious  success."^  But  the  Chris- 
tian Endeavor  society  declined  to  stand  on  the  same  platform. 
According  to  one  who  had  been  an  official  of  the  Endeavor  move- 
ment for  ten  years,  "It  stands  committed  to  one  form  and  name 
of  organization  and  it  makes  the  latter  a  prerequisite  to  entrance 
into  its  fellowship. "3  One  wonders  how  Dr.  Clark  could  say  that 
federation  is  an  accomplished  fact''  when  the  entire  body  of 
Methodist  young  people,  not  to  speak  of  large  numbers  of  Baptists, 

'  Quoted,  Baptist  Union,  October  20,  1894. 
'  Golden  Rule,  June  4,  1891;   Y.P.A.W.,  June  13,  1891. 
3  W.  T.  Ellis,  The  Independent,  August  15,  1901. 
*  Clark,  ibid.,  September  12,  1902. 


86  THE  YOUNG  PEOPLE'S   MOVEMENT 

Lutherans,  Episcopalians,  and  many  others,  stand  outside.  The 
Baptist  Union  is,  however,  not  only  a  protest;  it  is  a  prediction 
of  the  good  day  when  Y.M.C.A,,  Y.W.C.A.,  King's  Daughters, 
Brotherhood  of  St.  Andrew,  Epworth  League,  Luther  League, 
Christian  Endeavor  society,  and  all  the  rest  shall  find  some  cause 
superior  to  personal  pride,  denominational  interest,  and  pecuniary 
profit,  a  cause  great  enough  to  rally  all  in  whom  is  the  spirit  of  the 
Lord  Jesus. 

If  one  were  suggesting  the  limitations  of  the  Union,  the  following 
should  probably  be  included : 

1 .  A  lack  of  pride  in  the  organization  on  the  part  of  the  member- 
ship and  the  denomination  as  a  whole.  The  management  declared 
time  and  again  that  $10,000.00  a  year  would  put  it  on  a  sound 
financial  basis,  but  it  was  not  forthcoming.  One  man  in  particu- 
lar was  allowed  to  use  his  business  credit  for  the  organization's 
debts  for  fifteen  years. 

2.  An  almost  utter  failure  to  respond  to  changing  conditions. 
The  character  of  the  Christian  Culture  courses  and  the  society's 
activities  is  in  no  essential  respect  different  today  from  what  it 
was  fifteen  years  ago.  Its  ideal  is  limited  by  the  prayer-meeting 
and  the  study  courses.  Community  study,  practical  philanthropy  , 
and  social  service  have  crept  in  rarely  and  surreptitiously. 

These  things  are  not  fatal  nor  inherent  in  the  movement,  but 
they  must  be  taken  into  consideration  if  continued  usefulness  and 
attractiveness  are  to  be  expected. 

Nothing  would  be  gained  by  going  further  into  detail  on  this 
matter  of  denominational  differentiation.  It  found  expression  in 
all  large  denominations  in  one  form  or  another,  and  in  many  smaller 
ones.  The  United  Presbyterians  formed  their  Young  People's 
Christian  Union;  the  Evangelical  Association,  its  Young  People's 
AlHance;  the  Lutherans,  their  Luther  League  of  America;  the 
Universalis ts,  their  Young  People's  Christian  Union;  the  English 
Wesleyans,  their  Wesley  Guild.  A  strenuous  effort  was  made  to 
have  the  Presbyterian  General  Assembly  adopt  the  Westminster 
League  as  its  official  society.  This  failed,  owing  to  Christian 
Endeavor  influences,  which  were  apparently  not  strong  enough  to 
warrant  an  attempt  to  have  the  Christian  Endeavor  made  the 


THE  PERIOD   OF  DIFFERENTIATION  87 

ofl&cial  society.'  Shortly  afterward  a  Young  People's  Depart- 
ment was  established  in  the  Board  of  Home  Missions.  The 
Methodist  New  Connection  of  England  adopted  the  Epworth 
League,  but  the  following  year  they  found  that  the  London  Sunday 
School  Union  had  organized  so  many  Christian  Endeavor  societies 
in  their  churches  that  they  reversed  their  decision  of  the  previous 
year  and  adopted  the  Christian  Endeavor  organization.  The 
United  Evangelical  Church  in  America  had  formed  a  Keystone 
League,  but  later  changed  it  to  the  Keystone  League  of  Christian 
Endeavor.  The  United  Brethren  formed  a  Young  People's  Chris- 
tian Union  which  later  became  the  Young  People's  Christian 
Endeavor  Union  of  the  United  Brethren  Church. 

These  latter  instances  suggest  that  very  much  less  than  justice 
would  be  done  the  entire  situation  if  mention  were  not  made  of  the 
fact  that  to  some  denominations,  and  to  many  in  every  denomina- 
tion, the  criticisms  implied  in  this  denominational  movement 
awakened  no  response,  and  in  many  cases  were  incomprehensible. 
Christian  Endeavor  became  the  official  society  for  the  following 
denominations,  among  others:  Reformed  Church  in  America, 
Quakers,  Disciples,  Congregationalists.  To  a  greater  or  less 
extent,  Christian  Endeavor  societies  exist  among  some  eighty 
denominations  at  the  present  day.  The  Christian  Endeavor  is 
in  no  sense  an  official  federation  of  the  denominations,  inasmuch 
as,  with  rare  exceptions,  the  trustees  do  not  officially  represent 
their  churches,  and  in  some  instances  have  been  out  of  harmony 
with  the  prevailing  opinion  of  their  communion,  as  is  the  case,  for 
example^  among  Methodists.  Nevertheless,  all  except  the  most 
sectarian  must  gladly  recognize  the  profound  service  of  the  Chris- 
tian Endeavor  movement  to  our  modern  Christianity,  in  the 
assistance  it  has  rendered  in  bringing  the  denominations  into 
friendly  association  and  co-operation. 

'  Breed,  Presbyterian  and  Reformed  Review,  1896,  p.  648. 


CHAPTER  VII 
THE  PERIOD  OF  DIFFERENTIATION— Co«/t«MeJ 

A  second  line  of  differentiation  has  been  on  the  basis  of  sex. 
This  period  was  marked  by  the  growth  of  organizations  of  young 
men  or  of  young  women  alone.  The  rise  of  the  brotherhoods  is 
characteristic.  There  had  been  individual  groups  of  men,  more  or 
less  organized,  in  all  churches  for  centuries;  but  the  earliest  of  the 
modern  general  organizations  was  the  Brotherhood  of  St.  Andrew, 
formed  in  November,  1883,  in  St.  James  Protestant  Episcopal 
Church,  Chicago,  from  a  young  men's  class.  The  name  is  derived 
from  the  gospel  narrative  of  Andrew  bringing  Simon  to  Jesus,  and 
the  Brotherhood  was  fittingly  organized  on  St.  Andrew's  Day.  It 
had  two  rules :  the  Rule  of  Prayer  and  the  Rule  of  Service.  The 
former  requires  members  to  pray  daily  for  the  spread  of  Christ's 
Kingdom  among  young  men  and  for  God's  blessing  upon  the  labors 
of  the  Brotherhood.  The  latter  demands  that  an  earnest  effort 
be  made  each  week  to  bring  at  least  one  young  man  within  the 
hearing  of  the  gospel.  Membership  was  limited  to  laymen,  and  it 
was  required  that  the  officers  belong  to  the  Episcopal  church.  In 
seeking  young  men,  the  members  went  everywhere,  to  hotels, 
hospitals,  ships,  prisons;  they  established  reading-rooms,  Sunday 
schools,  missions.  It  was  distinctly  an  evangelistic  movement. 
The  growth  has  been  sustained  from  the  start.  In  1886,  35  gilds 
united  to  form  the  Brotherhood  of  St.  Andrew  in  the  Protestant 
Episcopal  Church  of  the  United  States.  In  1890,  there  were  433 
active  chapters,  and  in  1910  about  1,000  chapters  in  the  United 
States.  There  are  also  national  councils  in  Canada,  England, 
AustraHa,  and  Japan.  The  junior  chapters  receive  boys  from 
twelve  years  of  age  upward,  and  are  also  organized  on  the  basis  of 
the  two  rules. 

The  Brotherhood  of  Andrew  and  Philip  represents  the  appro- 
priation of  the  Brotherhood  of  St.  Andrew  by  the  non-Episcopal 
churches,  the  name  combining  the  story  of  Andrew  seeking  Simon 

88 


THE   PERIOD   OF   DIFFERENTIATION  89 

and  Philip  seeking  Nathanael.  It  is  interesting  that  Dr.  Stephen 
H.  Tyng  once  spoke  of  the  need  of  an  "Andrew  and  Philip  Society.'" 
It  was  organized  in  the  Second  Reformed  Church  of  Reading, 
Pennsylvania,  in  May,  1888,  on  the  basis  of  the  two  rules  of  the 
Brotherhood  of  St.  Andrew.  In  1895,  there  were  chapters  in  the 
Reformed  church,  the  Presbyterian  churches  North  and  South, 
the  United  Presbyterian  church,  the  Canadian  Presbyterian  church, 
the  Congregational,  Methodist  Protestant,  Methodist  Episcopal, 
Baptist,  English  Lutheran,  and  United  Brethren  churches.  Today 
there  are  about  1,000  enrolled  chapters  in  the  United  States, 
Canada,  Japan,  Australia,  and  India,  and  23  denominations  are 
represented.     There  are  many  chapters  not  enrolled. 

The  growth  of  the  denominational  organizations  of  men  may  be 
seen  from  the  fact  that  a  conference  of  representatives  of  ten  such 
organizations  of  brotherhoods  met  in  Chicago  in  1908  to  discuss 
common  problems.  They  varied  widely  in  organization  and  aims, 
the  Methodist  Brotherhood  representing  the  most  comprehensive 
but  not  therefore  the  most  efficient  plans,  and  the  two  mentioned 
above  standing  for  the  simplest  and  most  direct  scheme  of  organiza- 
tion. They  have  sought  the  evangelization  of  the  world  through 
personal  effort,  the  relief  of  distress,  the  institution  of  personal  and 
social  justice,  and  the  organization  of  society  for  the  realization  of 
the  Kingdom  of  God. 

Closely  related  to  the  brotherhoods  are  the  men's  organized 
Sunday-school  classes.^  As  a  significant  force,  these  are  distinctly 
modern.  The  first  Baraca  class  was  organized  at  Syracuse,  New 
York,  in  1890,  and  rapidly  spread.  Large  organized  classes  of 
young  men  have  arisen  everywhere,  Rochester,  New  York,  having 
some  especially  important  classes.  The  movement  for  the  federa- 
tion of  these  classes  began  in  Chicago  in  1899.  In  1903,  they  were 
granted  participation  in  the  Cook  County  Sunday  School  Asso- 
ciation; in  1905,  the  International  Sunday  School  Association  gave 
them  formal  recognition,  and  in  1906  issued  a  special  series  of  les- 
sons, "The  Ethical  Teachings  of  Jesus."  In  1909,  9,000  such  classes 
were  enrolled;    in  191 1,  18,250;    and  in  March,  1913,  there  were 

'  Y.P.A.W.,  March  21,  1891. 

'  Cope,  Evolution  of  the  Modern  Sunday  School,  191 1. 


90  THE  YOUNG  PEOPLE  S  MOVEMENT 

35,815  (including  a  number  of  mixed  classes).  They  are  most 
numerous  in  Pennsylvania  (6,021),  Ohio  (4,479),  Illinois  (4,094), 
Indiana  (2,089),  Iowa  (2,064),  Ontario  (1,363),  New  York  (1,334), 
Alabama  (1,070),  Missouri  (1,047),  Texas  (1,035),  ^.nd  Kentucky 
(1,030).  Among  ;^7,  denominations  represented,  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  church  has  7,970  classes;  the  Christian,  7,821;  the 
Presbyterian,  3,175;  the  United  Brethren,  2,446;  the  Northern 
Baptist,  2,430;  the  Methodist  Episcopal  South,  2,104;  the  Cana- 
dian Methodist,  1,085.^  These  are  not  merely  Bible  classes  in  the 
strict  sense,  but  accept  responsibility  for  all  matters  pertaining  to 
the  development  of  the  religious  life. 

The  Laymen's  Missionary  Movement  and  the  Men  and  Re- 
ligion Forward  Movement,  with  their  presentation  of  "a  man's 
job"  by  men  of  rare  manliness  and  statesmanship,  have  educated, 
unified,  and  directed  these  great  men's  organizations  along  lines 
of  conspicuous  service. 

Alongside  the  men's  organizations,  the  women's  societies  have 
been  doing  equally  important  work.  The  rapid  increase  of  the 
Y.W.C.A.  and  of  deaconesses  has  been  noted;  young  women's 
classes  are  very  common;  the  story  of  the  women's  clubs  deserves 
a  chapter  to  itself,  but  in  this  place  we  shall  merely  make  brief 
mention  of  two  organizations.  The  Daughters  of  the  King, 
organized  1885,  in  New  York,  is  a  sister-organization  to  the  Brother- 
hood of  St.  Andrew,  following  its  rules  of  prayer  and  service.  It 
is  an  Episcopal  society  and  has  found  large  favor  in  that  communion. 
The  question  it  raises  is.  Why  has  it  not  been  imitated  in  other 
churches  as  the  Brotherhood  of  St.  Andrew  has  been?  The 
answer  is  to  be  found  partly  in  the  fact  that  women  are  much  more 
regular  in  church  attendance  than  men;  partly  in  the  essentially 
reHgious  character  of  other  women's  organizations  which  have 
no  masculine  counterparts;  and  partly  in  the  wide  extension  and 
useful  service  of  the  woman's  club. 

The  King's  Daughters  is  not  only  a  different  organization,  but 
an  entirely  different  type  of  organization  from  that  just  men- 
tioned. In  1885  Dr.  E.  E.  Hale  sent  to  a  woman  in  New  York, 
upon  request,  an  outline  constitution  for  a  sisterhood  on  the  lines 

'  International  Sunday  School  Association,  Twenty-first  Quarterly  Statement. 


THE   PERIOD   OF   DIFFERENTIATION  9 1 

of  "Ten  Times  One  Is  Ten."  In  1886,  ten  women  adopted  the 
four  mottoes  and  a  trinitarian  confession  of  faith  (never  enforced 
and  later  recanted),  and  took  the  name  of  the  "King's  Daughters." 
They  aimed  to  emphasize,  in  this  order,  the  heart,  the  home,  the 
church,  the  world.  State  and  national  organizations  were  provided, 
but  a  minimum  of  organization  was  suggested.  A  little  later  the 
society  was  open  to  men  and  boys,  and  the  name  became  the 
"International  Order  of  the  King's  Daughters  and  Sons,"  but  men 
have  always  been  in  the  minority  in  the  organization.  The  large 
membership  is  distributed  over  every  continent  except  Africa.  One 
pastor  is  reported  to  have  organized  his  entire  constituency  into 
circles  of  the  Order.  Its  organ,  the  Silver  Cross,  abounds  in  instances 
of  human  love  and  sacrificial  service.  The  great  contribution  of  the 
Order  has  been  its  education  of  church  and  community  everywhere 
in  the  principles  of  social  service,  through  the  advocacy  and 
exempHfication  of  the  Wadsworth  mottoes. 

Let  us  note  what  these  various  developments  signify  as  criticisms 
of  current  standards  and  as  expressions  of  different  ideals. 

1.  There  is  a  protest  against  the  adequacy  of  sex  co-operation 
as  a  sole  method  of  action.  The  young  people's  society  embodied 
a  principle  of  profound  importance  when  it  set  young  men  and 
young  women  working  together.  But  it  was  only  a  half-truth, 
and  the  complementary  principle  was  equally  true,  that  provision 
must  be  made  whereby  young  men  and  young  women  should  each 
have  their  own  form  of  activity,  and,  if  need  be,  a  separate  organiza- 
tion. 

2.  There  is  a  protest  against  the  ideal  of  the  Sunday  school  as 
a  place  for  children  alone  and  for  religious  instruction  alone.  In 
its  place  there  is  set  an  institution  which  includes  all  ages  and  stands 
for  a  religious  education  which  includes  worship,  instruction, 
organization,  fraternity,  philanthropy,  and  recreation. 

3.  There  is  a  protest  against  any  conception  of  religion  which 
does  not  include  all-round  helpfulness,  and  in  particular  service 
to  needy  persons  and  institutions  in  one's  own  community. 

4.  The  Brotherhoods  of  St.  Andrew  and  of  Andrew  and  Philip 
were  a  protest,  on  the  one  side,  against  the  failure  of  a  church  to 
grow  by  conquest  from  without  as  well  as  by  birth,  and,  on  the 


} 


92  THE   YOUNG  PEOPLE'S  MOVEMENT 

other  side,  against  a  high-pressure,  wholesale  evangelism  in  the 
hands  of  specialists.  These  men  believed  that  the  gospel  was  the 
power  of  God  unto  salvation  if  it  really  got  a  chance,  and  they 
proposed  to  give  it  that  chance.  They  believed  also  that  the 
ordinary  methods  of  evangelistic  effort  were  highly  specialized,  and 
that  the  ordinary  man  was  guided  by  a  wise  instinct  when  he  felt 
unwilling  to  undertake  the  precipitation  of  a  soul  crisis.  They 
believed,  further,  that  those  methods  involved  serious  dangers  if 
indiscriminately  applied.  But  they  were  sure  that  the  ordinary 
man  had  a  grave  responsibility  for  the  souls  of  other  men,  which  it 
was  his  duty  and  privilege  to  accept.  The  rule  of  prayer  assured 
spiritual  preparation;  the  rule  of  service  indicated  a  natural 
method  of  approach.  Thus  from  a  church  making  much  of  ecclesi- 
astical orders  has  come  this  marvelous  impulse  to  lay  evangelism. 

The  missionary  movement. — A  third  main  line  of  differentiation 
is  found  in  the  modern  missionary  movement.  It  goes  back  for  its 
beginnings  to  1880,  when  the  college  Y.M.C.A.  established  a 
missionary  department.  In  this  year,  the  American  Interseminary 
Missionary  Alliance,  composed  of  theological  students,  held  its 
first  convention.  In  1883,  the  Princeton  Foreign  Mission  Society 
was  organized,  with  Wilder  and  Forman  as  leaders.  The  movement 
really  took  form  in  1886,  when  Mr.  Moody,  at  the  suggestion  of 
L.  D.  Wishard,  invited  the  college  men  to  Northfield  during  the 
summer  for  four  weeks  of  Bible  study.  Two  hundred  and  fifty-one 
men  came.  A  group  of  21  met  daily  for  prayer  that  there  might  be 
a  hundred  volunteers  for  the  foreign  field.  During  the  third  week 
the  "meeting  of  the  Ten  Nations"  was  held,  at  which  missionary 
addresses  were  given  by  sons  of  missionaries  in  Persia,  India,  and 
China,  and  by  natives  of  Armenia,  Japan,  Siam,  Germany,  Den- 
mark, Norway,  and  by  a  North  American  Indian.  On  the  last 
day  of  the  conference,  the  hundredth  man  came  to  the  daily  mis- 
sionary prayer-meeting  and  signed  the  Volunteer  pledge:  "I  am 
willing  and  desirous,  God  willing,  to  become  a  foreign  missionary." 
Thus  was  born  the  Student  Volunteer  Movement. 

Prior  to  this  time,  few  missionary  meetings  were  held  in  any 
college  in  America ;  missionary  libraries  were  virtually  non-existent, 
missionary  contributions  almost  unknown,  and  mission-study  classes 


THE   PERIOD   OF  DIFFERENTIATION  93 

nearly  "unthinkable."  In  England  a  group  of  seven  Cambridge 
men  had  been  visiting  the  colleges  seeking  recruits  for  the  foreign 
field.  This  idea  was  at  once  adopted  by  the  American  movement. 
Together  or  separately,  Forman  and  Wilder  visited  during  the  next 
year  167  institutions  of  learning,  and  2,200  volunteers,  men  and 
women,  enrolled.  There  was  no  systematic  visitation  in  1887-88, 
but  through  the  work  of  older  volunteers  600  names  were  added. 
The  canvass  was  taken  up  the  following  year  with  large  success. 

In  1888,  the  movement  was  organized  with  an  executive 
committee  of  three:  John  R.  Mott,  chairman,  representing  the 
Y.M.C.A.;  Miss  Nettie  Dunn,  the  Y.W.C.A.;  and  Robert  P. 
Wilder,  the  Interseminary  Alliance.  An  advisory  committee, 
appointed  by  the  denominational  missionary  boards,  determined 
questions  of  policy.  The  executive  committee  had  general  super- 
vision. Traveling,  editorial,  and  corresponding  secretaries  were 
to  carry  out  the  functions  suggested  in  their  names.  In  each 
institution,  the  Volunteers  formed  the  Volunteer  Band,  which 
frequently  constituted  the  missionary  committee  of  the  college 
Association. 

The  fourfold  purpose  of  this  organization  is  (i)  to  awaken  and  maintain 
among  all  Christian  students  of  the  United  States  and  Canada,  intelligent 
and  active  interest  in  foreign  missions;  (2)  to  enrol  a  sufficient  number  of 
properly  qualified  Student  V'olunteers  to  meet  the  successive  demands  of  the 
various  missionary  boards;  (3)  to  help  all  such  intending  missionaries  to 
prepare  for  their  lifework,  and  to  enlist  their  co-operation  in  developing  the 
missionary  life  of  the  home  church;  (4)  to  lay  an  equal  burden  of  responsi- 
bility on  all  students  who  are  to  remain  as  ministers  and  lay  workers  at  home, 
that  they  may  actively  promote  the  missionary  enterprise  by  their  intelligent 
advocacy,  by  their  gifts  and  by  their  prayers.  The  Volunteer  Movement  is  in 
no  sense  a  missionary  board.' 

It  is  rather  a  recruiting  agency  for  all  the  Boards. 

The  watchword  of  the  movement,  "The  Evangelization  of  the 
World  in  This  Generation,"  means  "to  give  all  men  an  adequate 
opportunity  to  know  Jesus  Christ  as  Savior  and  to  become  his 
real  disciples."^ 

'  Report  of  Executive  Committee,  1891. 

'  Mott,  Evangelization  of  the  World  in  This  Generation. 


w 


94  THE  YOUNG  PEOPLE  S  MOVEMENT 

Not  to  detail  the  history  of  the  Movement,  we  ask  briefly: 
What  has  it  accomplished  ? 

Up  to  the  end  of  191 2,  5,569  volunteers  had  sailed  for  the  foreign 
field  from  America,  and  1,696  from  the  United  Kingdom.  More 
volunteers  were  ready  and  acceptable  than  could  be  sent. 

It  issued  the  first  series  of  textbooks  for  mission-study  classes, 
and  has  established  mission  classes  whose  enrolment  has  grown  from 
1,400  in  1895  to  36,580  in  1912. 

It  has  held  quadrennial  conventions,  which  have  been  notable 
from  every  point  of  view. 

It  has  held  annual  summer  conferences  for  students  which  have 
gone  far  to  Christianize  our  colleges. 

It  has  employed  traveling  secretaries  who  have  brought  directly 
to  the  colleges  the  spirit  of  the  missionary  enterprise. 

It  has  increased  the  gifts  of  students  and  faculties  from  virtually 
nothing  to  $131,761.59,  as  reported  in  1910. 

It  prepared  the  way  for  the  foreign  mission  work  of  the  Inter- 
national Committee  of  the  Y.M.C.A. 

It  has  profoundly  influenced  the  Hfe  of  the  churches  of  America. 
To  these  last  two  points  we  must  devote  a  little  more  attention. 

The  foreign  work  of  the  International  Committee  of  the 
Y.M.C.A.  is  perhaps  the  most  important,  certainly  the  most 
statesmanlike,  aspect  of  all  Christian  work  in  non-Christian 
countries.  It  began  in  1889  with  an  appeal  to  the  Committee,  on 
the  part  of  missionaries,  for  secretaries  for  these  countries.  The 
policy  of  the  Committee  involves  the  selection  of  sixty  of  the  most 
strategic  centers  in  the  entire  non-Christian  world,  establishing 
in  them  dignified  and  suitable  buildings,  and  assigning  to  them  the 
ablest  secretaries  obtainable.  It  is  an  attempt  to  pre-empt  the 
city  and  the  university  for  Christ,  and  already  its  work  is  notable. 
In  191 1,  the  Committee  had  105  secretaries  on  the  foreign  field. 

One  of  the  direct  results  of  the  Student  Volunteer  Movement 
was  the  Yoimg  People's  Missionary  Movement,  an  attempt  to 
do  for  the  young  people  of  the  churches  what  the  student  move- 
ment had  done  for  the  colleges.  The  Baptists  led  in  the  systematic 
study  of  missions  by  several  years.  The  first  issue  of  the  Young 
People  at  Work  (December,  1890)  contained  a  department  called 


THE   PERIOD   OF   DIFFERENTIATION  95 

"The  Mission  Field,"  which  m  1891  was  divided  into  "Home"  and 
"Foreign  Work."  The  first  to  sound  a  decisive  missionary  note 
for  young  people's  societies  was  Dr.  L.  C.  Barnes,  who  (March  21, 
1891)  said: 

Let  the  dominant  purpose  [of  the  B.Y.P.U.A.]  be  not  self-culture  but 
world-saving.  Let  the  central  aim  be  not  to  refine  and  stimulate  our  own 
spirits  a  little  more  highly  and  have  a  religious  good  time  together,  but  to  find 
out  the  moral  needs  [of  the  world]  and  to  drill  ourselves  in  training  to  supply 
those  needs.  The  young  men  of  our  churches  are  lamentably  without  syste- 
matic culture  in  the  large,  heroic  purposes  which  hold  the  future  of  American 
society  and  of  the  world.' 

It  was  fitting  that  the  man  who  had  this  splendid  vision  and  knowl- 
edge of  young  people  should  write  Two  Thousand  Years  of  Missions 
before  Carey  (1900),  a  missionary  textbook  which  set  a  standard 
that  has  rarely  been  reached  since.  In  January,  1892,  the  Young 
People's  Union,  the  organ  of  the  B.Y.P.U.A.,  began  to  print  material 
for  a  monthly  missionary  meeting,  which  was  assigned  by  the  topic 
card  to  the  last  Sunday  of  each  month.  In  1894,  the  four  years' 
schedule  was  announced,  including  not  merely  a  monthly  meeting 
but  a  study  class,  and  covering  the  work  of  the  northern,  southern, 
and  Canadian  Baptist  missions.  In  this  same  year,  the  American 
Baptist  Missionary  Union  organized  a  Young  People's  Department 
with  a  secretary,  whose  duty  it  was  "First,  to  secure  in  every  young 
people's  society  a  good  live  missionary  committee,  all  at  work  with 
a  definite  purpose.  Second,  to  secure  systematic,  proportionate,  and 
worshipful  giving,  according  to  the  biblical  plan,  'Upon  the  first 
day  of  the  week.'  "  This  secretary  discovered  that  most  societies 
had  no  missionary  committee;  that  about  one  society  in  ten  had  a 
plan  of  study  and  a  monthly  missionary  meeting,  thanks  to  the 
Conquest  Missionary  course;  but  that  the  giving  of  the  majority 
was  done  "in  a  careless  and  indifferent  way."* 

The  Presidential  address  at  the  Christian  Endeavor  convention 
of  1893  emphasized  systematic  and  proportionate  giving.  On 
October  18,  1894,  the  Golden  Rule  began  to  publish  a  series  of  mis- 
sionary studies  and  urged  the  formation  of  Golden  Rule  Mission 
Clubs,  which  should  be  regularly  organized  and  should  take 
examinations,  for  which  a  fee  of  fifty  cents  was  charged. 

'  Y.P.A.W.,  March  21,  1891.  ^  Baptist  Union,  June  15,  1895. 


96  THE   YOUNG   PEOPLE'S   MOVEMENT 

In  1897,  according  to  the  Epworth  Herald,^  there  were  in  the 
Epworth  League  no  constitutional  provisions  for  missionary  agita- 
tion and  no  mission-study  courses;  practically  no  textbooks  were 
available,  and  the  Student  Missionary  Campaign  was  unknown. 
A  quarterly  missionary  topic  was  the  extent  of  its  interest.  The 
Methodist  text  was  that  of  Bishop  Foss,  From  the  Himalayas  to 
the  Equator  (1899). 

The  items  already  mentioned  indicate  the  indirect  influence  of 
the  Student  Volunteer  Movement  upon  the  churches.  Now  begins 
its  direct  work.  In  October,  1893,  the  Chicago  Christian  Endeavor 
Union  invited  all  Student  Volunteers  in.  the  city  and  vicinity 
to  an  informal  social  meeting  held  by  the  Christian  Endeavor 
Missionary  Institute,  which  had  come  into  being  in  consequence  of 
the  action  of  the  Chicago  Union  in  assuming  the  support  of  a 
Christian  Endeavor  secretary  in  India  in  1891.  As  a  result  of  this 
meeting  of  the  Volunteers,  a  speakers'  bureau  was  organized,  and 
any  church  desiring  an  address  on  a  foreign  mission  theme  was 
supplied  by  some  Volunteer.^    Other  large  cities  had  similar  bureaus. 

In  the  academic  year  1898-99,  a  band  of  five  Yale  men  traveled 
among  young  people's  societies.  Meetings  to  the  number  of  884 
were  addressed;  364  missionary  conferences  were  held  with  the 
representatives  of  2,000  societies;  241  missionary  committees 
were  organized;  579  collections  of  missionary  books  were  sold; 
392  societies  were  led  to  start  mission-study  classes;  518  societies 
adopted  the  plan  of  systematic  giving;  and  757  promised  to  use 
the  missionary  prayer  cycle.  They  found  many  missionary  com- 
mittees but  few  study  classes.  At  the  summer  conferences  of 
1899,  this  "Student  Missionary  Campaign"  received  large  atten- 
tion. It  was  officially  recognized  at  once  by  many  of  the  largest 
denominations,  and  all  took  up  the  idea  with  enthusiasm.  In 
the  summer  of  1900  and  succeeding  summer  vacations,  many  stu- 
dents gave  several  weeks  to  this  work;  and,  during  the  academic 
year,  hundreds  visited,  in  small  groups,  the  churches  surrounding 
the  various  institutions  of  learning.  In  the  large  cities  all  the 
young  people's  societies  united  in  these  conferences,  great  enthu- 
siasm was  generated,  and  many  classes  were  formed.^ 

'  Epworth  Herald,  XIV,  614  (1903). 

^  Baptist  Union,  April  4,  1896.  ^  Button,  Baptist  Union,  XII,  692. 


THE   PERIOD   OF   DIFFERENTIATION  97 

Greater  perhaps  than  the  immediate  effect  upon  the  churches 
was  the  reflex  influence  of  this  work  upon  the  schools.  Mission- 
study  and  Bible-study  classes  multiplied.^  In  the  wake  of  the 
Student  Mission  Bands  came  the  organization  of  Evangelistic 
Bands,  groups  of  young  men,  touched  with  divine  fire,  who  went 
out  to  spend  the  week-end  with  near-by  churches,  seeking  imme- 
diate decisions  for  the  Christian  life.  In  the  case  of  at  least  one 
university  (McMaster),  two  such  bands  spent  the  summer  of  1904 
visiting  churches,  receiving  no  remuneration  beyond  expenses.^ 

The  Missionary  Movement  was  in  great  need  of  textbooks,  the 
Baptists  being  virtually  the  only  denomination  with  an  adequate 
course  of  study.  Further,  there  was  need  of  united  action  and  of 
wise  guidance.'  Consequently,  as  the  result  of  a  meeting  of  the 
leaders  of  missionary  work  in  the  churches,  held  in  New  York  in 
December,  1901,  the  first  conference  of  the  Young  People's  Mis- 
sionary Movement  was  held  at  Silver  Bay,  New  York,  July,  1902. 
Those  in  charge  included  Wishard,  Beach,  and  Speer.  Reports 
of  the  work  done  by  Baptist,  Methodist,  Presbyterian,  Reformed, 
and  other  churches  were  discussed,  mission-  and  Bible-study  classes 
were  held,  and  denominational  gatherings  were  arranged.  Inas- 
much as  these  latter  were  led  by  persons  in  each  denomiaation 
ofiicially  charged  with  the  missionary  propaganda,  their  resolu- 
tions were  widely  influential.  The  scope  of  the  movement  was 
defined  as  the  preparation  of  leaders  for  mission-study  classes  by 
summer  conferences,  institutes,  etc.,  and  the  preparation  of  litera- 
ture (books,  helps,  charts,  libraries,  curios,  etc.).  In  distinction 
from  the  Student  Volunteer  Movement,  this  plan  embraced  both 
home  and  foreign  missions.  In  1903,  two  conferences  were  held; 
in  1904,  a  third  was  added;  and,  in  1906,  four  were  held,  including 
one  at  Whitby,  Ontario.  In  some  places,  for  instance  Chicago, 
interdenominational  Young  People's  Missionary  Institutes  were 
held  for  several  days  in  the  early  fall,  which  mediated  the  enthu- 
siasm of  the  conferences  to  leaders  in  the  local  societies.  Over 
10,000  persons  attended  the  summer  conferences  in  the  first  decade.^ 

'  Statistical  Tables,  World's  Student  Christian  Federation,  1913. 

^  Baptist  Union,  May  7,  1904. 

i  Epworth  Herald,  XVIII  (1907),  14. 


98  THE   YOUNG  PEOPLE'S  MOVEMENT 

The  movement  prepared  a  series  of  textbooks  which  have  been 
extensively  used  and  have  proved  of  great  value,  each  denomina- 
tion (47  in  number  in  1912^  issuing  supplemental  material  touching 
its  work  in  the  field  under  consideration.  The  work  of  the  move- 
ment has  extended  in  one  direction  to  the  Sunday  school  and  in 
the  other  to  adults.  The  woman's  interdenominational  missionary 
movement  has  published  a  noteworthy  series  of  texts,  and  study 
classes  have  prospered.  Among  men,  the  Laymen's  Missionary 
Movement  is  an  outgrowth,  and  this  merged  into  the  Men  and 
Religion  Forward  Movement,  which  has  performed  service  of  pro- 
found value. 

Looking  at  it  in  the  large,  whether  from  the  standpoint  of  its 
influence  upon  non-Christian  nations  in  every  aspect  of  their  lives, 
reHgious,  social,  industrial,  educational,  political,  or  from  the  point 
of  view  of  its  profound  effects  upon  the  Christian  churches  and  the 
nations  in  which  they  predominate,  it  seems  probable  that  the 
missionary  enterprise  of  the  nineteenth  century  is  the  most  impor- 
tant movement  of  Christianity  since  the  days  of  Paul.  The 
Reformation  was  the  unshackling  of  the  free  spirit  of  the  gospel; 
the  Wesleyan  and  other  revivals  gave  it  voice  and  enthusiasm; 
the  missionary  enterprise,  including  in  that  term  not  only  the 
movements  under  immediate  ecclesiastical  control  but  all  move- 
ments looking  to  the  increase  of  brotherliness  and  the  spread  of  a 
reverence  for  personality,  is  the  direction  of  its  energy  into  its 
proper  channel.  This  is  the  main  stream  not  only  of  Christianity 
but  of  history;  all  other  streams  are  tributary. 

In  this  onsweeping  current  of  the  nineteenth  century,  the  young 
people's  movement  constitutes  a  large  element.  For  the  most  part, 
looking  at  it  not  from  the  standpoint  of  the  individual  but  of  his- 
tory', it  has  been  essentially  preparatory.  The  temperance  move- 
ment was  and  is  largely  negative  in  character,  whether  it  has  sought 
the  abolition  of  the  saloon  or  the  training  of  children  to  fear  and 
hate  strong  drink.  Philanthropy,  gracious  as  it  is,  ought  to  be 
temporary,  for  it  implies  inequahty  of  possessions  and  privileges — 
a  condition  which  has  no  real  place  in  a  democracy.  It  is  already 
regarded  as  primitive,  to  be  superseded  by  a  more  just  organization 

'  Epworth  Herald,  XXIII  (191 2),  835. 


THE   PERIOD   OF  DIFFERENTIATION  99 

of  society,  in  which  the  gold  of  brotherly  kindness  will  be  separated 
from  the  dross  of  condescension.  Education  and  organization, 
as  represented  by  Sunday  school,  public  school,  and  university,  by 
Y.M.C.A.  and  Y.W.C.A.,  by  the  Christian  Endeavor  and  kindred 
societies,  must  necessarily  be  education  for  some  purpose  and 
organization  to  some  end.  Otherwise  we  have  machinery  without 
product,  motion  without  progress.  If  we  ask.  For  what  are  these 
things  preparatory  ?  the  answer  is.  For  the  positive,  constructive 
task  of  Christianizing  the  world.  The  winning  of  individuals  to 
the  religious  life  and  the  home  and  foreign  missionary  enterprises 
are  part  of  it,  but  these  by  no  means  exhaust  it.  It  involves  the 
Christianizing  of  industry  and  commerce;  of  municipal,  state, 
national,  and  international  politics;  of  all  the  relations  in  which 
men  stand  toward  other  men,  either  as  individuals  or  as  groups; 
in  a  word,  it  means  the  Christianizing  of  the  entire  social  order. 
If  self-sacrifice  and  leadership  be  granted  to  the  young  people's 
movement,  so  that  it  shall  cease  to  live  to  itself,  shall  cease  to  ask 
whether  it  is  to  live  or  die,  but  only  seek  a  place  in  this  great  task 
of  the  world's  redemption,  it  will  live  and  accomplish  that  whereto 
God  has  sent  it.  It  has  ''come  to  the  kingdom  for  such  a  time  as 
this."  The  bringing  into  clear  consciousness  of  what  we  so  dimly 
see  but  so  powerfully  feel  is  the  supreme  business  of  the  present 
century. 


CHAPTER  VIII 
PROBLEMS  AND  PRINCIPLES 

An  attempt  to  evaluate  current  organizations  of  young  people 
raises  at  once  the  question  of  standards,  a  question  which  can  be 
answered  only  by  discussing  briefly  the  psychology  of  adolescence. 
The  physiological  facts  are  of  first  importance.  Early  adolescence 
shows  a  remarkable  increase  in  height  and  weight,  fourteen  or  fifteen 
years  being  the  age  of  most  rapid  growth.  There  is  "a  gradual  and 
probably  irregular  tapering  off  of  growth  in  height  at  about  eighteen 
or  nineteen,  and,  to  a  degree,  of  weight  a  few  years  later."  The 
proportions  of  bodily  parts  and  organs  change  almost  constantly. 
The  heart  increases  in  a  year  or  two  at  the  beginning  of  adolescence 
almost  to  the  size  of  that  of  an  adult,  and  there  is  at  first  no 
corresponding  increase  in  the  arteries;  its  beat  is  accelerated  and 
becomes  stronger ;  these  result  in  increased  blood-pressure.  "There 
are  more  red  corpuscles  in  the  blood,  the  lung  capacity  is  increased, 
and  there  is  more  carbonic  acid  in  the  breath — all  of  which  shows 
that  rapid  transformations  are  going  on  in  the  organism."^  The 
brain  reaches  the  limit  of  its  growth  in  weight  at  the  age  of  twelve 
or  thirteen;  then  brain  organization  and  unification,  through  the 
growth  of  the  fibers  of  the  middle  layer  of  the  cerebral  cortex, 
become  the  important  factors.  Especially  from  the  age  of  eighteen 
on,  these  tangential  fibers  develop  rapidly,  as  anatomical  researches 
indicate,  so  that  the  brain  of  a  man  of  thirty-eight  has  about  twice 
as  many  as  that  of  a  youth  of  eighteen.  The  growth  of  these  fibers 
constitutes  the  physiological  basis  for  the  functioning  of  Flechsig's 
"association    areas,"    Hughlings- Jackson's    "highest  level,"   and 

"unifies  the  whole  nervous  system The  highest  level  is  the 

anatomical  basis  of  mind.""*  This  is  the  period  also  of  the  rapid 
development  and  of  the  functioning  of  the  organs  of  sex.  Growth 
and  development  do  not  go  on  continuously  and  hence  the  danger 

'  Starbuck,  Psychology  of  Religion,  p.  307. 
^  See  Donaldson,  Growth  of  the  Brain. 

100 


PROBLEMS   AND   PRINCIPLES  10 1 

to  more  sensitive  people  of  being  ''thrown  out  of  gear"  temporarily 
or  permanently.' 

These  physiological  changes  have  psychological  correlatives  of 
far-reaching  significance.  "It  is  a  well-established  fact,  as  is 
shown  from  the  study  of  the  brains  of  children,  idiots,  adults,  and 
animals,  that  the  character  of  the  psychic  life  is  conditioned  by  the 
quality  of  nervous  tissue."^  The  new  experiences  connected  with 
augmented  blood-pressure  and  brain  organization  are  characterized 
by  enhanced  mental  activity,  sometimes  resolving  itself  into  keen 
intellectual  enjo}Tiient,  frequently  into  doubt  and  questioning. 
After  a  careful  study  of  many  cases,  Starbuck  says:  "Not  only  is 
the  rational  power  a  vigorous  tool  for  the  criticism  of  religious 
ideals,  but  frequently  ....  the  interest  in  it  seems  to  approach 
a  kind  of  aesthetic  of  logic."  One  woman  remarks  of  her  experi- 
ences at  this  period,  "It  was  the  cold  philosophy  of  his  [Sweden- 
borg's]  teaching  that  satisfied  my  mental  needs."  Another  says, 
"Cared  more  about  my  doubts  than  the  solution  of  them."  Still 
another,  "For  a  year  or  more  after  fourteen,  the  whole  matter  of 
religion  seemed  eclipsed  by  the  desire  for  intellectual  growth."^ 
It  is  not  a  little  interesting  to  note  that  many  philosophers  struck 
out  the  ground  plans  of  their  systems  during  adolescence. 

Adolescent  questioning  is  clearly  reflected  in  the  doubts  that  so 
often  arise.  Fifty-three  per  cent  of  the  women  and  79  per  cent  of 
the  men  studied  by  Starbuck,  and  three-fourths  of  the  cases  con- 
sidered by  Bumham,''  went  through  a  period  of  doubt.  The  two 
important  causes,  according  to  the  former's  tables,  were  educational 
influences  and  natural  growth,  in  inverse  ratios  for  men  and  women. 
Doubt  not  seldom  finds  its  outcome  in  a  sense  of  being  outside  the 
conventional  mold,  accompanied  by  a  philosophical  reconstruction. 
"Alienation  seems  often  to  be  due  to  the  physiological  necessity 
of  gaining  relaxation"  and  is  an  attempt  "to  preserve  in  one  way 
or  another  the  wholeness  of  the  individual  life."^  This  alienation, 
when  it  occurs,  usually  comes  in  later  adolescence. 

'  Evidence  summarized  in  Hall,  Adolescence. 

'Starbuck,  op.  ciL,  p.  149;  Stratton,  Experimental  Psychology  and  Culture, 
chap. iv. 

•5  Starbuck,  op.  cit.,  p.  271. 

''  Burnham,  Pedagogical  Seminary,  1,  182.  5  Starbuck,  op.  cit.,  pp.  247  ff. 


I02  THE  YOUNG  PEOPLE'S  MOVEMENT 

A  high  degree  of  emotional  intensity  is  characteristic  of  adoles- 
cence. The  new  appeal  of  Nature  probably  comes  under  this 
category.  There  is  frequently  an  enlarged  susceptibility  to  the 
aesthetic.     Starbuck  recites  such  cases  as  the  following: 

From  twenty-four  to  twenty-nine,  I  did  not  believe  in  religion  at  all.  I 
wept  over  the  pathetic  in  literature;  had  strong  emotions  on  hearing  the 
Messiah,  or  Easter  music  at  a  great  church 

My  enjoyment  [from  fifteen  to  twenty- two]  was  largely  sensuous;  flowers, 
perfumes,  music,  deep,  soft  colors  awakened  more  emotion  than  any  thought 
of  the  holiness  of  God 

Chopin's  "Funeral  March"  seems  to  grow  into  me 

The  "storm  and  stress"  period  through  which  nearly  two-thirds 
of  all  young  people  pass  is  a  striking  illustration  of  the  emotional 
tension  of  early  and  middle  adolescence.  It  is  characterized  by  a 
sense  of  incompleteness  and  imperfection;  by  a  sense  of  sin  fre- 
quently connected  with  matters  of  sex;^  by  fear  of  punishment; 
by  brooding,  depression,  and  morbid  introspection,  and  by  friction 
with  surroundings.  These  have  in  part  a  physiological  explana- 
tion, such  as  high  blood-pressure,  unequal  growth  of  various  organs, 
the  new  sex  function,  the  keenness  of  the  senses;  in  part,  their 
explanation  is  psychical,  as  due  to  the  confusion  wrought  by  the 
flooding  in  of  new  experiences  and  the  attempt  to  organize  one's 
universe;  in  part,  they  are  due  to  actual  wrong-doing.  Taken 
altogether,  they  produce  an  emotional  tension  of  a  high  degree. 

The  emergence  of  the  sex  function  with  its  correlated  instincts 
is  probably  the  most  important  single  fact  of  adolescence.  Its 
biological  significance  is  that  the  youth  begins  to  live  the  race  life. 
The  universaUty  of  initiation  ceremonies  among  primitive  peoples, 
inducting  the  adolescent  into  the  full  life  of  the  tribe,  indicates  a 
common  understanding  of  this  fact.^  Hereditary  traits  and  diseases 
(e.g.,  insanity)  crop  out  in  these  years. 

The  social  results  of  sex  are  of  unparalleled  importance.  The 
first  effect  of  sex  consciousness  is  that  of  separation  of  the  sexes, 
and  thus  we  have  in  early  adolescence  the  "gang."^     This  gives 

'  Brockman,  Pedagogical  Seminary,  IX,  255;  Hoben,  The  Minister  and  the  Boy, 
P-  137- 

"Daniels,  American  Journal  of  Psychology,  VI,  i. 

:Hall,  op.  cit..  Vol.  II,  chap,  xv;   Hoben,  op.  cit.,  pp.  22  f.;   Forbush,    The  Boy 
Problem. 


PROBLEMS   AND   PRINCIPLES  IO3 

way  in  middle  adolescence  to  renewed  interest  of  boys  and  girls 

in  each  other.     Later  adolescence  is  the  mating  time. 

The  directly  socializing  power  of  the  sex  instinct  on  the  male  has 

been  thus  stated : 

His  bluff,  self-centered  impulses  are  now  softened  and  restrained  by  desire 
to  win  affection  and  admiration,  and  by  anxious  care  for  the  comfort  and 
happiness  of  the  one  he  loves.  No  other  influence  is  comparable  to  this 
maturing,  instinctive  disposition  for  the  development  of  attitudes  of  sym- 
pathy, co-operation,  and  sociability.  For  the  first  time  in  his  experience  there 
is  a  compeUing  inner  motive  urging  regard  for  another  to  the  point  of  complete 
self-devotion.' 

The  vocational  impulse,  so  strong  in  this  period  and  so  great  in 
socializing  power,  has  as  one  of  its  chief  roots  the  earning  of  an 
income  on  which  to  marry.  "  On  the  whole,"  Mercier  declares,  "  the 
sexual  emotion  includes  as  an  integral,  fundamental,  and  prepon- 
derating element  in  its  constitution  the  desire  for  self-sacrifice";* 
and  Geddes  and  Thompson,  from  the  biological  standpoint,  say 
that  the  "primitive  hunger  and  love  become  the  starting-points  of 
divergent  lines  of  egoistic  and  altruistic  emotion  and  activity."^ 

The  "irradiations  of  the  reproductive  instincts"  have  important 
results  for  society  and  for  religion.  "Sensitiveness  to  the  opinion 
of  others  springs  directly  from  the  impulse  underlying  courtship 
between  the  sexes,  and  this  sensitivity  is  the  basis  and  safeguard 
of  social  relations."''  Professor  Ames  summarizes  the  evidence  for 
the  conclusion  that  this  regard  for  the  opinion  of  others  is  found 
among  animals,  as  is  shown  not  only  by  the  gay  plumage  and 
courtship  antics  and  cries  of  the  male,  but  equally  by  the  coyness 
of  the  female;  that  among  primitive  peoples  it  is  found  both  as  a 
craving  for  favorable  attention  and  as  the  anguish  inflicted  by 
adverse  criticism;  that  among  adolescents  it  is  manifested  as  self- 
consciousness,  vanity,  affectation,  and  the  inclination  to  show  off; 
that  among  adults  "it  remains  vivid  and  excessive";  and  he  quotes 
Professor  Thomas  with  approval :  "Our  susceptibility  to  the  opinion 
of  others  and  our  dependence  on  their  good  will  are  genetically 

•  Ames,  Psychology  of  Religious  Experience,  p.  222. 

*  Mercier,  Sanity  and  Insanity,  p.  220. 
3  Evolution  of  Sex,  chap.  xiii. 

^  Ames,  op.  cit.,  p.  227. 


I04  THE   YOUNG  PEOPLE'S   MOVEMENT 

referable  to  sexual  life."  It  is  this  which  produces  conformity 
to  the  conventions,  duties,  and  ideals  of  society,  and  makes  it 
possible  and  desirable  for  people  to  live  together. 

The  close  relation  of  personal  religion  to  the  sex  life  is  indicated 
by  at  least  three  things.  The  Christian  virtues  are  substantially 
those  produced  by  "the  irradiation  of  the  sex  instincts,"  as  noted 
in  preceding  paragraphs.  Further,  adolescence  is  the  normal  time 
for  the  rise  of  personal  rehgion.  The  years  in  which  rehgious 
awakenings,  both  of  the  conversion  and  spontaneous  types, 
most  frequently  occur  center  about  the  age  of  sixteen;  and  if  it 
has  not  occurred  before  the  age  of  twenty,  it  is  relatively  improb- 
able that  it  will  ever  take  place.'  At  twelve,  with  the  beginning 
of  puberty,  there  is  great  impressionability  and  responsiveness 
to  social  suggestion.  At  sixteen  the  physical  and  psychical 
ferment  of  adolescence  is  at  its  height;  and  at  nineteen  mental 
maturity  and  more  reasoned  decisions  are  characteristic.  The  fact 
that  in  the  liturgical  churches  this  is  the  period  of  confirmation 
reveals  a  wisdom  born  of  centuries  of  experience.  Not  all  people, 
however,  enter  into  the  religious  experience,  partly  because  of  a 
lack  of  sympathetic  environment  and  training,  and  partly  because 
the  individual  does  not  find  in  the  religious  groups  of  his  community 
that  which  appeals  to  him. 

The  third  point  of  contact  of  Christianity  with  the  sex  impulse 
is  shown  in  the  fact  that  "the  phraseology  in  Christian  churches 
is  that  of  the  family.  The  Church  is  the  bride  of  Christ.  The 
members  are  children  of  God;  brothers  and  sisters  to  each  other. 
They  are  born  into  this  spiritual  family,  having  been  conceived  by 
the  Holy  Spirit.  Love  is  the  pervading  bond  in  all  these  relations." 
And  not  only  is  the  phraseology  significant,  but  "the  emotional 
attitudes  aroused  by  the  services  of  the  churches  are  the  tender, 
melting  moods  in  which  the  will  acquiesces  in  the  appeal  for  love 
and  comradeship."^ 

On  the  basis  of  these  facts  we  turn  to  discuss  some  common 
problems  of  young  people's  societies  in  the  churches.  First  we 
shall  consider  the  function  of  such  an  organization. 

'  Starbuck,  op.  cit.,  chaps,  iii  and  xvi;  Coe,  The  Spiritual  Life. 
'  Ames,  op.  cit.,  p.  228;  Thomas,  Sex  and  Society,  pp.  115  ff. 


PROBLEMS   AND   PRINCIPLES  IO5 

An  analysis  of  the  activities  of  an  ordinary  Christian  Endeavor 
society  shows  that  they  may  be  arranged  somewhat  in  the  following 
order:  (i)  worship,  as  provided  for  in  the  weekly  prayer-meeting, 
and  constituting  the  nucleus  of  everything  else;  (2)  responsibihty, 
represented  by  office-holding,  committee  work,  leading  meetings, 
etc.;  (3)  friendship  and  recreation,  the  society  or  its  inner  circle 
being  usually  a  group  of  rather  intimate  friends,  sometimes  forming 
a  clique,  but  commonly  ready  to  welcome  any  who  are  willing  to 
accept  a  measure  of  responsibility,  and  able  to  make  some  con- 
tribution to  the  good-fellowship;  (4)  social  service,  consisting 
rarely  in  some  constant  form  of  helpfulness,  but  usually  limited 
to  particular  occasions,  such  as  Christmas,  or  to  special  needs; 
(5)  instruction  by  study  classes  in  missions  or  Bible,  or  by  occasional 
lectures. 

When  we  turn  to  the  organized  class  of  the  Sunday  school,  we 
find  these  same  five  elements,  but  with  a  quite  different  emphasis. 
The  primary  factor  is  instruction,  not  teaching  in  the  strict  sense, 
but  preaching,  and  the  most  vital  preaching  in  many  instances  that 
is  being  done  today;  for  the  teacher  knows  his  class  individually 
and  intimately,  and  brings  a  message  needed  by  that  particular 
group.  The  second  element  is  friendship,  including  recreation, 
but  the  former  receives  the  emphasis.  As  a  rule  these  classes  grow 
up  around  some  person,  usually  the  teacher,  who  "carries  on  his 
heart"  all  the  members,  visits  them  in  home  or  boarding-house, 
invites  them  to  his  home,  secures  them  employment  if  need  be, 
writes  them  when  they  are  away,  and  so  on.  This  attitude 
is  reflected  in  the  leading  members  of  the  class.  "Excessive 
cordiality"  was  one  visitor's  comment;  but  in  the  cities  "excessive 
cordiaHty"  without  ulterior  motive  is  rare.  The  social  events 
and  picnics  are  jolly  good  times,  but  are  not  so  important.  At  the 
close  of  each  class  hour  the  members  stand  around  and  talk  for  a 
time  and  the  stranger  is  likely  to  be  singled  out  for  especial  atten- 
tion. Responsibility  is  placed  upon  the  membership,  each  class 
having  officers  and  the  most  varied  committees,  one  having  even 
a  photographer  and  an  electrician  who  magnify  their  offices. 
Worship  and  philanthropy  enter  in,  but  they  are  relatively  sub- 
ordinate.    Each  class  usually  has  its  own  "opening  exercises," 


I06  THE   YOUNG   PEOPLE'S   MOVEMENT 

and  the  writer  knows  two  Chicago  classes  which  maintain  a  monthly 
prayer-meeting;  but  this  is  unusual.  It  is  evident  that  here  is 
"the  young  people's  society  in  a  new  form,  unhampered  by  stereo- 
typed methods,  lack  of  local  leadership,  fixed  conditions  of  mem- 
bership, and  conventional  types  of  religious  expression." 

After  this  analysis  it  is  instructive  to  note  what  ministers  regard 
as  the  purpose  of  their  young  people's  societies.  To  the  question, 
What  do  you  conceive  to  be  the  function  of  a  young  people's 
society  ?  fifty-five  Chicago  pastors,  of  all  the  leading  communions, 
gave  such  answers  as  the  following : 

To  bring  souls  to  Christ  and  teach  them  how  to  serve  him. 

To  promote  the  cause  of  Jesus  Christ  in  the  organized  form  of  the  church. 

To  promote  the  rehgious  development  of  young  people  by  providing 
opportunities  for  appropriate  religious  expression. 

To  buUd  the  young  people  of  a  church  into  strong  Christian  character. 
This  includes  the  development  of  intelligence,  afifection,  loyalty,  and  purjiose. 
Such  character  must  express  itself  in  the  legitimate  activities  of  the  church. 

Through  social  life  to  lead  into  the  spiritual,  means  to  an  end. 

To  promote  an  earnest  Christian  life  among  our  members,  to  increase  their 
mutual  acquaintance,  and  to  make  them  more  useful  in  the  service  of  God. 

To  meet  young  people  as  young  and  not  mature  persons,  and  to  be  helpful 
along  broad,  tolerant,  sincere  lines,  responsive  to  their  needs,  body,  mind,  and 
sotd. 

In  attempting  to  answer  this  question  of  function  constructively, 
several  problems  must  be  discussed. 

First,  which  is  of  primary  importance,  the  members,  the  society, 
or  some  other  organization,  such  as  the  church  or  denomination  ? 
In  other  words,  does  the  society  exist  for  the  young  people,  or  do  the 
young  people  exist  for  the  society  ?  Exceptions  aside,  it  is  safe  to 
say  that  the  latter  is  the  common  attitude.  The  very  mottoes 
indicate  this:  the  Christian  Endeavor  motto,  "For  Christ  and  the 
[local]  church";  the  Baptist  Union,  "Loyalty  to  Christ  in  all 
things  at  all  times,"  which  means  the  Baptist  interpretation  of 
Christ;  the  Ep worth  League,  "We  live  to  make  our  own  church 
[denomination]  a  power  in  the  land,  while  we  live  to  love  every 
church  that  exalts  our  Christ."  To  be  sure,  these  societies  have 
benefited  multitudes  of  people,  but  the  primary  question  is,  Is 
any  institution  of  superior  value  to  personality?    or,  otherwise 


PROBLEMS   AND   PRINCIPLES  IO7 

stated.  Has  any  institution  the  right  to  set  itself  above  the  people 
who  compose  it  and  for  whose  sake  it  supposedly  exists  ?  This  is 
the  point  of  the  Sabbath  controversy  between  Jesus  and  the 
Pharisees;  this  is  the  battle  that  is  being  fought  out  in  industry 
today;  the  public-school  system  is  meeting  criticism  at  this  very 
angle.  That  persons  are  of  more  worth  than  any  institution  should 
require  no  argument  where  a  Christian  organization  is  concerned. 
The  ability  and  the  willingness  to  render  service  to  persons  is  the 
test  of  the  sacredness  and  of  the  right  to  live  of  any  institution. 
When  the  institution  takes,  even  unconsciously,  the  opposite  view, 
it  has  ceased  in  so  far  to  be  either  Christian  or  democratic. 

A  second  question  asks:  Are  the  young  people  of  the  church  a  i,  ^^ 
field  to  be  cultivated  or  a  force  to  be  directed  ?  Practically  every-  t-' 
one,  theoretically  at  least,  would  say.  Both.  Let  us  separate  here 
the  two  elements  of  instruction  and  activity.  With  reference  to  the 
former,  it  has  usually  been  assumed  that  a  given  amount  of  biblical 
and  missionary  information  meets  all  requirements,  and  the  fallacy 
of  those  public  schools  in  which  courses  of  instruction  are  of  more 
importance  than  children  has  been  adopted.  The  only  justifiable 
starting-point,  however,  in  framing  courses  of  study  or  suggesting 
lines  of  activity,  is  the  person  himself,  and  the  question  to  be  asked 
is  not,  How  can  we  teach  this  portion  of  the  Bible  or  this  missionary 
material?  but  rather.  What  are  the  needs  and  problems  of  this 
particular  group  of  young  people  and  of  the  individuals  who  make 
up  the  group  ?  To  answer  this,  a  careful  study  of  the  psychology 
of  adolescence,  of  the  group  under  consideration,  and  of  the  local 
conditions  must  precede  an  adequate  or  scientific  reply.  The 
organized  class  has  laid  hold  of  this  principle,  and  this  is  one  reason 
for  its  pronounced  success. 

On  the  side  of  "  expressional  activity,"  the  same  conception  of  a 
"field  to  be  cultivated"  is  dominant.  Young  people  who  lead  a 
meeting,  or  take  part  in  the  service,  or  engage  in  philanthropic 
work  are  "training  for  service,"  or  are  "preparing  for  future  leader- 
ship." In  other  words,  the  real  tasks  of  the  church  are  being  per- 
formed by  deacons,  elders,  and  such  persons,  but  young  people 
up  to,  say,  thirty,  are  engaging  in  a  sort  of  play  by  which  they  will 
be  fitted  for  genuine  work  later  on.     That  worthy  and  appropriate 


Io8  THE   YOUNG   PEOPLE'S   MOVEMENT 

tasks  develop  the  doer,  and  prepare  him  for  larger  things  later,  no 
one  questions;  but  this  is  true,  not  only  of  young  people  of  college 
years,  but  also  of  the  aged  saint  ready  to  be  translated  to  "nobler 
service  above."  Apart  from  exceptions,  the  only  churches  and 
pastors  who  have  regarded  the  young  people  as  fit  for  a  great  task 
here  and  now  are  those  that  make  much  of  evangelistic  effort. 
The  watchword,  "Young  people  for  young  people,"  has  this  as  its 
primary  significance.  Under  present  conditions,  it  cannot  be  too 
often  or  too  strongly  emphasized  that  Spencer's  definition  of  educa- 
tion as  "preparation  for  complete  living"  contains  a  fundamental 
fallacy.  For  the  person  being  educated,  the  processes  essential  to 
a  complete  and  appropriate  education  constitute  complete  living. 
Tolstoi  protested  agamst  "the  snares  of  preparation  which  we 
spread  for  the  feet  of  the  young,"  and  leaders  of  young  people's 
work  should  lay  this  protest  to  heart.  The  minister  who  can  find 
an  attractive  and  appropriate  task  for  his  young  people  may  dismiss 
from  the  remote  corners  of  his  mind  the  words  "development"  and 
"training";  these  will  inevitably  follow. 

It  is  pertinent  to  ask  if  these  two  aspects  of  young  people's 
work  might  not  be  co-ordinated.  An  ideal  connection  would  be 
to  have  instruction  grow  out  of  activity  and  in  turn  modify  activity. 
The  psychological  basis  of  this  position  is  in  brief  as  follows :  Activ- 
ity is  prior  to  both  thought  and  feeling.  Out  of  initial  impulsive 
movements,  pleasurable  sensations,  control,  and  knowledge  of  the 
world  arise.  All  through  life  our  emotional  reactions  to  other 
persons,  as  fundamentally  friendly  or  hostile,  for  instance,  depend 
upon  instinctive  or  impulsive  physical  reactions  to  them,  which 
arouse  appropriate  emotions.  Thought  also  has  this  basis  of 
activity,  and  only  arises  when  there  is  conflict  between  impulsive, 
instinctive,  or  habitual  tendencies  to  action.  Hence  the  "problem 
situation,"  arising  from  actual  or  projected  activity,  constitutes 
the  psychological  basis  for  instruction,  the  instruction  consisting 
in  an  attempt  to  solve  the  problem."  If,  now,  the  problems  arising 
from  philanthropic  work,  for  example,  problems  of  housing,  disease, 
delinquency,  and  so  on,  could  be  made  the  basis,  at  least  in  part, 

'  James,  Psychology,  Vol.  II,  chap,  .xxv;  Dewey,  How  We  Think;  Ames,  op.  cit., 
chaps,  xv-xviii. 


PROBLEMS   AND   PRINCIPLES  IO9 

of  the  instructional  work,  this  latter  in  turn  influencing  the  former; 
and  if  both  instruction  and  activity  could  be  so  directed  as  to  influ- 
ence public  meetings  and  private  devotions  to  some  extent;  and 
if,  as  would  almost  surely  happen,  friendship  might  be  founded, 
not  simply  on  congeniality,  but  on  devotion  to  a  common  task  as 
well,  then  we  should  be  achieving  a  co-ordinated  scheme  for  the 
religious  education  of  youth. 

A  third  of  our  present-day  problems  concerns  the  type  of  religion 
emphasized  by  the  young  people's  society.  In  1900,  President 
Hyde  of  Bowdoin  said: 

Of  late,  chiefly  through  the  influence  of  societies  made  up  mainly  of  young 
people,  we  have  come  to  place  a  premium  on  emotional  experience  and  the 
ability  to  take  part  in  meeting.     Our  young  people  have  come  to  identify  these 

things  with  Christianity There  are  a  great  many  men — merchants, 

bankers,  lawyers,  manufacturers,  mechanics — who  will  join  heartily  in  digni- 
fied public  worship,  and  will  give  time,  money,  and  strength  to  whatever  works 
of  righteousness  the  Church  may  reasonably  lay  upon  them,  who  simply  cannot 
and  will  not  wear  their  hearts  upon  their  sleeve,  or  give  expression  to  their 
inmost  personal  experience  in  a  social  meeting.  By  making  such  social 
expression  of  personal  religious  experience  practically  synonymous  with  the 
religious  life  you  are  excluding  this  type  of  men  from  the  fellowship  of  the 

spiritual  life It  is  a  relatively  small  proportion  of  young  men  who  are 

gifted  in  this  line  and  who  find  the  exercise  of  these  gifts  natural  and  enjoyable. 
....  Each  member  must  be  given  a  specific  work  to  do.  It  must  be  some- 
thing more  concrete  and  definite  and  difficult  than  talking.' 

Dr.  Hyde  is  not  making  any  criticism  of  the  prayer-meeting 
nor  of  an  emotional  type  of  religion;  he  expressly  welcomes  both. 
His  contention  is  that  this  is  not  the  sole  form  of  religious  experience 
and  expression,  and  he  demands  that  other  forms  of  expression  be 
recognized  as  equally  valid  and  valuable  as  talking  in  prayer- 
meeting.  The  young  people's  society  of  the  future  must  be  broad 
enough  in  its  conception  of  personal  religion  and  varied  enough 
in  its  forms  of  activity  and  opportunities  of  service  to  allow  room 
for  all  religious  persons. 

Another  problem  is  that  of  sex  co-operation  and  sex  separation. 
In  the  Roman  and  Anglican  churches,  the  young  people's  gilds  are 
usually  made  up  of  young  men  or  young  women  alone,  unless  the 

'  The  Outlook,  LXVI,  889;  see  also  ibid.,  LXVII,  122. 


^ 


no  THE   YOUNG  PEOPLE'S   MOVEMENT 

parish  is  too  small  to  support  the  separate  organizations.  The 
organized  class  is  largely  following  in  the  same  direction.  All 
these  forms  of  organization,  however,  plan  for  more  or  less  regular 
occasions  when  both  sexes  can  be  brought  together. 

A  review  of  the  societies  we  have  been  discussing  suggests  that 
the  female  society,  when  it  is  not  a  temporary  formation  under 
special  conditions,  is  largely  imitative  in  character.  Thus  we  have 
first  men's  missionary  societies  and  later  women's;  first  m.en's 
temperance  organizations  and  then  women's;  and  so  the  men's 
labor  unions,  the  Y.M.C.A.,  boys'  brigades,  boy-scout  troops, 
Greek-letter  fraternities,  the  secret  fraternal  societies,  etc.,  have 
been  prior  in  formation  to  the  corresponding  women's  organiza- 
tions. The  male  organization  is  always  earlier  in  time,  and  largely 
determines  the  form  of  the  female  society.  Professor  Ames,  follow- 
ing Professor  Thomas,  seems  to  be  right  in  insisting  that  "the 
organizing,  directing,  executive  power  is  due  chiefly  to  men." 

It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  discuss  whether  the  sexes  should 
associate  and  co-operate.  The  evolution  of  our  modern  life  in 
family,  school,  church,  business,  society,  and  now  in  politics,  has 
answered  it  in  the  affirmative.  For  young  people,  the  particular 
function  of  this  association  from  the  biological  point  of  view  is  to 
furnish  opportunity  for  the  selection  of  mates.  Many  clergymen 
are  united  in  an  attitude  of  dread  toward  marriage  among  the 
young  people  of  the  society,  because  sooner  or  later  it  draws  the 
latter  away  from  the  organization.  But  this  point  of  view  errs 
in  two  respects.  It  looks  at  young  people,  not  from  the  standpoint 
of  their  personal  needs  and  problems,  but  from  that  of  the  organ- 
ization; the  society  overshadows  the  person.  Secondly,  it  places 
the  smaller  organization,  the  local  society  or  church,  over  against 
the  larger  group,  the  community  or  nation,  and  regards  the  inter- 
est of  that  smaller  group  as  of  more  importance  than  the  welfare 
of  the  larger.  Marriage  concerns  not  merely  the  persons  involved, 
with  their  friends,  but  the  entire  community,  the  state,  and  the 
nation.  Anyone  who  regrets  an  otherwise  appropriate  marriage 
because  it  may  withdraw  a  certain  amount  of  assistance  from  his 
society  is  incompletely  socialized. 


PROBLEMS   AND   PRINCIPLES  III 

The  young  people's  society  has  performed  an  invaluable  service 
to  the  world  in  bringing  young  people  together  in  two  ways,  viz., 
association  and  co-operation.  If  it  had  done  nothing  more  than 
furnish  a  meeting-place  under  good  auspices,  and  the  opportunity 
for  a  pleasant  social  time,  it  would  have  been  worth  all  it  has  cost. 
But  when,  in  addition,  it  gathers  young  men  and  women  of  the  same 
social  group  about  a  task,  it  permits  them  to  discover  each  other's 
real  caliber.  And  when  the  task  is  intimately  bound  up  with 
religion  and  the  welfare  of  the  world,  it  suffuses  all  their  relations 
to  each  other  with  this  same  spirit  and  lays  the  foundations  of 
marriage  of  superb  quality. 

This  does  undoubtedly  create  a  problem  for  the  society.  The 
average  "life"  of  a  member  of  a  Christian  Endeavor  society, 
according  to  the  general  secretaries,  is  four  or  five  years.  But  this 
problem  is  to  be  met,  not  by  regretting  the  marriages  forwarded 
by  the  association,  but  by  considering  how  to  keep  up  the  supply 
of  young  people. 

The  final  problem  under  this  heading  of  function  is  that  of 
adjustment  to  local  conditions.  It  is  quite  characteristic  that  an 
Epworth  League  organized  in  191 2  in  the  mountains  of  Virginia 
set  up  all  the  departments  and  committees,  and  entirely  in  harmony 
with  common  experience  that  some  of  the  committees  never  met 
and  that  only  two  accomplished  anything.  A  Christian  Endeavor 
society  in  India  wliich  had  a  "graveyard  committee"  and  a  junior 
society  in  China  which  had  a  "clean  finger-nail  committee"  were 
doing  what  many  American  societies  fail  to  do,  viz.,  adapt  their 
work  to  local  needs.  The  present  Efficiency  Campaign  of  the 
Christian  Endeavor  society  is  likely  to  increase  this  lack  of  local 
adjustment.  Any  junior  society,  for  example,  whether  in  New 
England  or  Alaska,  to  obtain  100  per  cent  must  have,  among 
other  things,  a  birthday  committee,  a  sunshine  committee,  a  society 
chorus  choir,  at  least  four  socials  a  year,  an  athletic  committee  for 
boys  and  another  for  girls,  and  must  make  collections  "as  of 
minerals,  postage  stamps,  insects,  etc."  This  is  justified  on  the 
ground  that  "some  uniform  standard  must  be  set."  The  ordinary 
society  could  do  no  better  thing  than  to  reduce  its  organization 


112  THE  YOUNG  PEOPLE'S   MOVEMENT 

to  its  lowest  terms,  select  one  or  two  things  that  actually  need  doing 
in  that  community,  and  build  up  the  society  about  the  local  need. 
This  revision  will  need  repetition  every  few  years. 

But  a  further  question  emerges.  What  sort  of  things  is  it 
'^f.  possible  for  a  church  young  people's  society  to  undertake  ?  In 
particular,  shall  the  society  be  purely  religious,  or  shall  it  utiHze 
the  social  instincts  for  religious  purposes,  or  ought  the  social  aspects 
of  Hfe  to  be  recognized  as  possessing  religious  values  ?  A  purely 
reHgious  person  does  not  exist,  even  in  a  convent,  for  soul  and 
body  coexist  and  social  relationships  are  the  most  important  of 
realities.  It  is  certainly  justifiable  to  utilize  the  social  instincts 
for  the  development  of  religious  sentiments,  just  as  we  do  not  hesi- 
tate to  use  the  religious  sentiments,  when  they  are  strong,  to  rein- 
force desirable  attitudes  and  actions  in  political,  social,  or  industrial 
life.  But  we  ought  to  go  one  step  farther.  Professor  Hoben  has 
shown^  that  organized  and  directed  play  is  at  heart  as  important 
in  the  development  of  character  as  Sunday-school  teaching.  He 
shows,  for  example,  how  basket-ball,  played  according  to  the  rules, 
develops  self-control,  self-sacrifice,  the  ability  to  co-operate,  etc. 
Religious  educators  who  profess  as  their  aim  the  development  of 
Christian  character  should  be  quick  to  recognize  the  legitimacy 
of  anything  that  contributes  to  that  result.  This  is  not  the  utiliza- 
tion of  the  social  instincts  for  religious  purposes ;  it  is  the  direction 
of  the  inborn  nature  to  the  attainment  of  its  own  highest  possi- 
bilities. Whether  or  not  the  church  shall  provide  for  recreation, 
and  to  what  extent  and  in  what  forms,  are  practical  questions,  de- 
pending very  largely  upon  what  other  agencies  are  doing  and  how 
they  are  doing  it.  In  any  event,  the  church  has  a  responsibility 
for  anything  and  everything  in  the  community  that  is  having  a 
moral  or  immoral  influence  upon  the  young  people,  whether  in  the 
church  or  out  of  it.  Church  work  is  any  work  of  betterment  and 
helpfulness  that  needs  doing. 

After  the  problem  of  function  comes  that  of  organization  in 
relation  to  other  groups  within  the  local  church.  A  keen  observer, 
who  for  forty-five  years  has  been  a  progressive  leader  in  Sunday- 
school  work,  makes  this  startling  statement: 

'  Hoben,  The  Minister  and  the  Boy. 


PROBLEMS   AND   PRINCIPLES  113 

It  remains  a  hard  fact  that  the  Sunday  school  is  really  an  institution  out- 
side the  church,  self-appointed  as  "nursery,"  and  "feeder,"  and  "agency,"  and 
occupying  precisely  the  same  relation  to  the  church  as  that  of  the  ...  . 
Y.P.S.C.E.,  and  other  organizations  of  similar  character;  its  impetus  at  all 
times  being  exercised  from  without  rather  than  from  within  the  church.' 

In  view  of  the  facts  that  the  Christian  Endeavor  society  has 
strenuously  asserted  from  the  first  that  it  exists  "for  Christ  and 
the  [local]  Church";  that  every  Methodist  pastor  is  under  obliga- 
tion to  organize  and  maintain,  if  possible,  an  Epworth  League  in 
his  charge;  that  every  denomination  has  in  some  way  asserted 
its  right  to  direct  the  young  people's  movement  within  the  body  as 
a  whole  and  within  each  individual  church,  Dr.  Blackall's  statement 
seems  incredible.  One  who  ponders  the  situation,  however,  is  not 
so  sure.  Take  a  Christian  Endeavor  society  in  a  Baptist  church: 
its  organization  is  planned,  its  activities  suggested,  its  topics  pre- 
pared, and  its  literature  printed  under  the  direction  of  a  group  of 
men  gathered  from  the  various  denominations  but  officially  repre- 
senting only  themselves.  The  financial  interests  of  a  private 
printing  company,  the  Christian  Endeavor  World  Publishing  Com- 
pany, have  also  to  be  considered.  Take  a  Baptist  Union:  until 
1913,  its  whole  direction  was  in  the  hands  of  a  group  of  men  elected, 
not  by  the  denomination,  but  by  the  convention  of  the  B.Y.P.U.A. 
Take  an  Epworth  League:  its  policy  is  closely  directed  by  the 
denomination,  but  what  attempt  has  ever  been  made  to  correlate 
the  League  and  the  Sunday  school?  Junior,  intermediate,  and 
senior  leagues,  and  junior,  intermediate,  and  senior  departments 
of  the  school  are  parallel,  but  as  organisations  unrelated. 

Would  it  not  be  possible  for  a  church  to  organize  and  correlate 
its  various  elements,  so  that  independence,  duplication,  and  com- 
petition might  be  avoided,  and  a  child  pass  by  regulated  and  natural 
gradations,  not  merely  from  one  Sunday-school  class  to  another, 
but  from  one  entire  stage  of  religious  experience  and  expression  to 
the  next,  up  to  maturity?  This  becomes  especially  important, 
when,  as  at  present,  in  an  increasing  number  of  churches,  the  organ- 
ized class  is  competing  with  the  young  people's  society  for  the  time, 
energy,  and  loyalty  which  until  recently  belonged  to  the  latter. 
One  of  the  results  of  this  competition  is  that  in  many  places  the 

'  Blackall,  The  Sunday  School  Situation,  1913,  p.  3. 


114  THE   YOUNG   PEOPLE'S   MOVEMENT 

society  is  made  up  of  much  younger  people.  But  what  will  happen 
when  the  International  Sunday  School  Association  has  organized 
all  classes  of  the  secondary  division  of  the  school  ?  It  is  evident 
that  the  present  arrangement  is  temporary. 

If  the  young  people's  society  and  the  organized  class  are  to 
coexist  in  the  same  church  permanently  and  harmoniously,  it  can 
only  be  by  division  of  function  (for  example,  with  the  society 
limiting  itself  to  a  prayer-meeting) ;  or  by  division  of  constituency 
on  the  basis  of  natural  groupings,  etc. ;  or  by  federations  of  all  the 
work  of  the  church  for  young  people.  This  last  solution  would 
include  the  other  two.  In  1905  a  significant  document  was  pre- 
sented to  the  B.Y.P.U.A.^  .It  proposed  that  in  a  local  church 
''where  there  is  a  number  of  organizations  composed  of  young 
people,  'the  Union'  shall  be  a  federation  of  the  various  depart- 
ments of  the  young  people's  work,  each  of  which  shall  be  conducted 
under  its  individual  constitution,"  and  shall  aim  at  "the  close  rela- 
tion of  each  to  the  work  of  the  church  itself,  under  the  leadership 
of  the  pastor."  All  members  of  the  constituent  organizations 
would  belong  to  the  federation;  the  council  of  conference,  consist- 
ing of  the  pastor  and  the  president  and  secretary  of  each  organiza- 
tion, should  meet  once  a  month;  each  constituent  society  should 
be  regarded  as  a  department  of  the  Union;  the  existing  Baptist 
Union  should  call  itself  "The  Devotional  League  of  the  Young 
People's  Union";  and  quarterly  meetings  of  the  entire  society 
should  be  held.  A  pledge  is  proposed  as  part  of  this  constitution, 
but  is  clearly  a  mistake,  for,  if  tests  are  proposed  for  membership 
in  the  federation  which  are  not  required  for  membership  in  the 
societies  federated,  the  federation  simply  becomes  another  society 
beside  the  others.  This  federative  idea  shows  a  way  out  of  a  state 
of  things  which  is  bound  to  become  worse  as  the  organized  class 
becomes  universal. 

But  even  such  an  organization  is  only  a  halfway  house.  Every 
church  ought  to  have  a  committee  on  religious  education,  charged 
with  the  duty  of  organizing  and  directing  all  necessary  societies 
within  the  church,  and  of  co-ordinating  them  with  each  other  and 
with  the  work  of  the  church  itself.^ 

^Service,  II  (1905),  164. 

'Religious  Education,  VIII,  231  ff.;  Northern  Baptist  Convention,  Commission 
on  Moral  and  Religious  Education,  191 2,  1913. 


PROBLEMS   AND   PRINCIPLES  115 

The  relation  of  the  local  society  to  other  societies  of  the  same 
community,  and  of  all  the  young  people  to  the  community  itself, 
demands  more  attention  than  has  usually  been  given  to  it.  There 
are  two  possible  bases  of  union,  opinions,  and  tasks.  Some  people 
unite  because  they  think  alike.  This  is  true,  to  a  degree,  of  a  single 
church,  and  less  frequently  of  a  group  of  churches  in  a  community. 
With  reference  to  young  people,  many  of  whom  would  find  it  difficult 
to  state  just  what  they  do  believe,  or  who  have  a  philosophy  of 
hfe  with  quite  individual  characteristics,  union  on  the  basis  of 
opinions  is  scarcely  feasible.  Further,  the  discussion  of  opinions 
is  scarcely  adapted  for  uniting  the  participants.  Keen  observers  at 
the  World  Missionary  Conference  at  Edinburgh  in  1910,  when 
representatives  of  all  communions  from  all  parts  of  the  world 
gathered  to  discuss  common  problems,  stated  that  the  only  time 
during  the  whole  conference  when  the  spirit  of  unity  was  endangered 
was  when  the  subject  of  Christian  union  was  under  discussion. 
The  other  possible  basis  is  that  of  a  common  task:  for  instance, 
some  community  enterprise  too  large  and  too  important  for  one 
society,  but  not  too  great  to  defy  the  efforts  of  two,  three,  or  half  a 
dozen  such  groups.  This  makes  appeal  to  youth's  desire  for  activity 
and  achievement,  to  its  social  spirit,  to  its  sympathy,  and  to  its 
wilHngness  to  sacrifice.  Opinions  may  divide,  but  co-operation  in 
a  task  surely  unites. 

An  instance  of  what  is  possible  is  seen  in  Hyde  Park,  Chicago. 
This  is  usually  known  as  one  of  the  most  favored  sections  of  the 
city,  but  it  has  great  problems  invisible  from  the  boulevard,  notably 
a  large  number  of  more  or  less  neglected  children.  Some  years  ago 
a  group  of  philanthropic  persons  set  themselves  the  task  of  stud>-ing 
and  meeting  this  situation,  and  invited  the  co-operation  of  the  young 
people's  societies  of  the  neighborhood.  They  responded  by  gifts 
and  personal  service.  Among  other  things,  four  societies  united 
to  provide  pleasant  Sunday  afternoons  for  children  of  fourteen 
years  of  age  and  under.  This  has  bound  the  young  people  of  these 
societies  together,  and  has  immensely  broadened  their  outlook. 
It  is  only  a  beginning,  to  be  sure,  and  none  are  so  keenly  alive  to  its 
meagerness  as  its  promoters,  but  it  is  the  germ  of  untold  possibiHties. 

This  is  simply  illustrative.  The  need  varies  with  the  com- 
munity.    As  a  rule,  communities  do  not  know  their  own  conditions. 


Il6  THE   YOUNG  PEOPLE'S   MOVEMENT 

If  the  societies  of  a  given  neighborhood  would  unite  to  study  their 
own  section,^  and  then  unite  in  the  task,  which  even  in  the  most 
favored  sections  is  sure  to  be  great,  of  meeting  some  one  of  the  needs 
that  have  been  revealed,  they  would  make  great  gain  in  interest, 
fellowship,  and  spirituality.     "He  that  loseth  his  life  saveth  it." 

The  possibility  of  a  national  federation  of  young  people  has 
frequently  been  discussed,  and  usually  advocated,  be  it  said,  either 
by  those  who  deplore  the  lines  of  division  between  societies,  or 
regret  the  duplication  of  expenditure  in  time,  energy,  and  money 
in  maintaining  separate  conventions,  or  admire  mere  bigness. 
Outlines  of  a  possible  organization  have  been  prepared.  The 
Christian  Endeavor  society  in  particular  has  been  suggested  as  the 
proper  body  to  send  out  the  invitations.  The  purpose  of  such  a 
federation  has  been  indicated  as  the  holding  of  a  common  conven- 
tion, the  preparation  of  uniform  topics,  the  arranging  for  uniform 
textbooks,  and  the  collation  of  statistics.^ 

A  more  vital  suggestion  has  been  made — -that  the  young  people 
of  America  be  invited  to  federate  about  some  great  enterprise, 
national  in  scope,  positive  and  constructive  in  character,  and  appeal- 
ing to  the  social  nature  of  youth.  It  is  further  intimated  that  the 
matter  be  under  the  direction  of  a  possible  young  people's  bureau 
of  the  Federal  Council  of  the  Churches  of  Christ  in  America,  which 
should  select  the  cause,  have  experts  prepare  the  measure  and  the 
literature,  and  deal  directly  with  the  denominational  leaders  in 
every  case.  There  is  much  to  commend  such  a  plan.  Certain  it  is 
that  there  has  been  no  federation  up  to  this  time  because  there  has 
been  no  sufficient  reason  for  such  a  movement.  It  is  possible  that 
this  plan  might  provide  the  sufficient  reason.  In  any  case,  mere 
bigness  is  not  a  worthy  goal.  Unless  federation  means  the  effective 
focusing  of  effort  on  some  appropriate  object,  it  had  better  not  be 
attempted. 

*  Amovici,  Knowing  One's  Own  Community  (.\merican  Unitarian  Association). 
'  The  Independent,  XLIX,  397;  LIII  (1900),  2175;   Century  Magazine,  LXXXII, 
854;  Baptist  Union,  XIII,  784. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 

I.      GENERAL 

American  Church  History  Series  (Christian  Literature  Co.) 
Bacon,  History  of  American  Christianity  (Christian  Literature  Co.),  1897 
Dorchester,  Christianity  in  the  United  States  (New  York),  1890 
Ashley,  Economic  History  (Longmans,  Green,  &  Co.),  1898,  1905 
Gibbins,  Industry  in  England  (Scribner),  4th  ed.,  1906 

■ ,  Industrial  History  of  England  (Methuen)  4th  ed.,  1895 

,  Economic  and  Industrial  Progress  (Bradley-Garretson  Co.),  1903 

Cunningham,  English  Industrial  History  (Macmillan),  1898 

Toynbee,  Industrial  Revolution  (Longmans,  Green,  &  Co.),  1890 

Clough,  History  of  Edjication  (London),  1904 

Weber,  Growth  of  Cities  in  the  Nineteenth  Century  (Macmillan,  for  Columbia 

University),  1899 
James,  "Growth  of  Cities,"  Annals  of  American  Academy,  Vol.  XIII 
Webb,  History  of  Trade  Unionism  (Longmans,  Green,  &  Co.),  2d  ed.,  1896 
Ely,  Labor  Movement  in  America  (New  York),  1886 

II.      MISSIONARY   AND   DEVOTIONAL    (eARLY) 

SOURCES 

Baptist  Missionary  Magazine,  1803  to  date  under  various  names  (Boston) 
Beecher,  Lyman,  Autobiography  (New  York),  187 1 
Finney,  Memoirs  (New  York),  1876 

LITERATURE 

Vail,  Morning  Hour  of  American  Baptist  Missions  (A.B.P.S.),  1907 

III.      MUSIC 

Elson,  History  of  American  Music  (Macmillan),  1904 

Smith,  Hull  Organs  and  Organists  (A.  Brown  &  Sons,  London),  1910 

IV.      TEMPERANCE 
I .     BRITISH 

Dunlop,  Extent  and  Remedy  of  National  Intemperance  (Glasgow),  1829 

,  Wine  System  of  Great  Britain  (Glasgow),  1831 

,  Philosophy  of  Artificial  and  Compulsory  Drinking  Usages  in  Great 

Britain  and  Ireland,  6th  ed.,  1839 
Second  Annual  Report  British  and  Foreign  Temperance  Society  (London),  1833 
Temperance  Magazine  and  Review,  March,  1832 — May,  1833  (London) 
Doyle,  Bishop,  Open  Letter,  1839;  Carr,  Rev.  George,  Reply,  1830  (Dublin) 
Couling,  History  of  Temperance  Movement  (London),  1862 

117 


Il8  THE   YOUNG   PEOPLE'S   MOVEMENT 

2.      AMERICAN 

Armstrong,  Temperance  Reformation  (New  York),  1850 

Kimball,  Blue  Ribbon  (Dodd,  Mead  &  Co.),  1894 

Fehlandt,  Century  of  Drink  Refor^n  in  the  United  States  (Eaton  &  Mains),  1904 

Finch,  People  v.  the  Liquor  Traffic  (Ripon,  Wisconsin),  1906 

Blair,  Temperance  Movement  (Boston),  1888 

Wlieeler,  Methodism  and  the  Temperance  Reformation  (Cincinnati),  1882 

Daniels,  The  Temperance  Reform  (New  York),  1878 

Shaw,  History  of  Temperance  Reforms  (Cincinnati),  1875 

V.      SENIOR   CLASSES 

I.     BRITISH 

Barnard,  National  Education  in  Europe  (Hartford:  Perkins),   2d  ed.,  1854 
Roberts,  Education  in  the  Nineteenth  Century  (Cambridge:  University  Press), 

1901 
^Monroe,  Articles  on  John  Anderson,  Birbeck,  Brougham,  Hogg,  Edward  Baines, 

Adult    Schools,    Mechanics'    Institutions,    Lyceum,    Josiah    Holbrook, 

Cyclopedia  of  Education  (MacmiUan) 
IngUs,  The  Sabbath  School  (Sunday  School  Union),  1850 
Watson,  Senior  Classes  (idem),  1842 

,  Sunday  School  Union  (idem)  (n.d.) 

,  First  Fifty  Years  of  the  Sunday  School  (idem),  1862 

Report  First  World's  Sunday  School  Convention,  1887 

Groser,  Hundred  Years'  Work  for  the  Children  (Sunday  School  Union),  1903 

Rowntree  and  Binns,  Adult  School  Movement  (London:  Heddley  Bros.),  1903 

2.      AMERICAN 

Narrative  of  the  Revival  of  Religion  in  the  State  of  New  York  during  J8ig,  1820 

(Glasgow  Evangelical  Corresponding  Society),  1830 
Todd,  Sabbath  School  Teacher,  1837 
Packard,  Teacher  Taught  (Philadelphia),  1839 
Alcott,  The  Sunday  School  as  It  Should  Be,  1844 

Tyng,  Forty  Years'  Experience  with  the  Sunday  School  (New  York),  1866 
Bullard,  Fifty  Years  with  the  Sunday  School  (Boston:  Lockwood),  1876 
Pardee,  Sabbath  School  Index,  1868 

Brown,  Sunday  School  Movements  in  America  (ReveU),  1903 
Cope,  Evolution  of  the  Sunday  School  (Pilgrim  Press),  191 1 
International  Sunday  School  Association,  literature  and  Reports 
Lawrence,  "What  the  Sunday  School  Does  during  the  Week,"  Ladies'  Home 

Journal,  April,  19 13 
American  Baptist  Publication  Society,  Reports 
Service  (A.B.P.S.)  I,  48 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


VI.      Y.M.C.A. 


119 


Fifty  Years'  Work  among  Young  Men  in  All  Lands,  1894 
Doggett,  History  of  the  Y.M.C.A.,  1890 
Williams,  J.  E.  H.,  Sir  George  Williams  (Armstrong),  1906 
Moss,  United  States  Christian  Commission  (Lippincott),  1868 
Doggett,  in  North  American  (New  York),  CLXXII  (1901),  882 
Ross,  in  New  England  Magazine  (Boston),  N.S.,  Vol.  XXIV  (1901) 
Moody,  Life  of  Moody  (Revell,  1900) 
Boston  Y.M.C.A.,  Reports 
Boston  Y.M.C.U.,  Reports 

Pritchett,  "Religious  Leadership  in  College,"  The  Independent  (New  York) 
LXVI,  847 

Roberts  and  Israel,  "Rural  Work  of  the  Y.M.C.A.,"  Annals  of  the  American 

Academy  (Philadelphia),  XL,  140 
World's  Student  Christian  Federation  Reports  and  literature 
Warner,  in  The  Independent  (New  York),  LXV,  1550 
Schaefer,  "German  Young  Men's  Christian  Association,"  New  Schaf-Herzog 

Encyclopedia  (Funk  &  Wagnalls),  XII  (1912),  479 
"Die  Jiinglingsvereine,"  Brockhaus'  Konversations-Lexikon,  IX  (1908,  1034) 

VII.      THE   MODERN   YOUNG  PEOPLE'S   MOVEMENT 

Bacon,  Young  People's  Societies  (New  York),  1900 

Cressey,  Church  and  Young  Men  (Revell),  1903 

"Young  People's  Societies,"  New  Schaff-Herzog  Encyclopedia  (Funk  &Wagnalls) 

The  Independent  (New  York),  XLIV,  929  ff. 

"Is  It  a  Failure?"  The  Stattdard  (Chicago),  June,  1901 

Carroll,  Religious  Forces  of  the  United  States,  (Christian  Literature  Co.),  1893 

Schwanbeck,  Die  Junglings-  und  Jungfrauen-Vereine  (Gotha),  1890 

Baird,  American  College  Fraternities,  6th  ed.  (New  York:  Alcorn  Co.),  1905 

VIII.      THE   PSYCHOLOGY   OF   ADOLESCENCE 

Donaldson,  Growth  of  Brain  (Scribner),  1895 

Hall,  Adolescence  (Appleton) 

Starbuck,  Psychology  of  Adolescence  (Scribner),  1899 

,  "Child  Mind  and  Child  Religion,"  sue  articles  in  Biblical  World,  (The 

University  of  Chicago  Press) ,  Vol.  XXX 
Coe,  Spiritual  Life  (Revell)  1900 

,  Education  in  Religion  and  Morals  (Revell),  1904 

James,  Psychology  (Holt),  1890 

,  Varieties  of  Religious  Experience  (Longmans,  Green,  &  Co.),  1902 

Ames,  Psychology  of  Religious  Experience  (Houghton,  Mifflin  Co.),  1910 
Thomas,  Sex  and  Society  (The  University  of  Chicago  Press),  1907 


I20  THE   YOUNG   PEOPLE'S   MOVEMENT 

King,  Psychology  of  Child  Development  (The  University  of  Chicago  Press),  1907 

Kirkpatrick,  Fmtdamentals  of  Child  Study  (Macmillan),  1904 

Tanner,  The  Child  (Rand,  McNally  &  Co.),  1904 

MacDougall,  Social  Psychology  (Methuen),  1909 

Chamberlain,  The  Child  (Scribner),  1902 

Clouston,  Hygiene  of  the  Mind,  1900 

Swift,  Mind  in  the  Making  (Scribner),  1908 

Bumham,  "Study  of  Adolescence,"  Pedagogical  Seminary  (Worcester,  Mass.), 

I,  174 

Various  studies  in  social  judgment,  in  Studies  in  Education,  1896,  pp.  203  flf., 

213  ff.,  332  ff. 
Chambers,  "Evolution  of  Ideals,"  Pedagogical  Seminary  (Worcester,  Mass.) 

Vol.  X 
Kline,  "Juvenile  Ethics,"  ibid.,  239 
Tanner,  "Children's  Ideas  of  Honor,"  ibid.,  XIII,  509  ff. 
Brockman,  "Moral  and  Religious  Life  of  Preparatory  Students,"  ibid.,  IX, 

Wyckoff,  "Children's  Ideals,"  ibid.,  VIII,  482  ff. 
Street,  "Study  in  Moral  Education,"  ibid.,  V,  2 
Lancaster,  "Psychology  and  Pedagogy  of  Adolescence,"  ibid.,  V,  61  ff. 
Child-Study  Department,  Chicago  Public  Schools,  Reports  on  physical  condi- 
tion of  juvenile  offenders 


IX.      CHRISTIAN  ENDEAVOR   SOCIETY 

SOURCES 

Golden  Rule  and  Christian  Endeavor  World  (Boston);  see  also  Proceedings  of 
Conventions 

LITERATURE 

Clark,  Children  and  the  Church,  1882 

,  Children  at  the  Church  Doors,  1882 

,  Training  the  Church  of  the  Future  (Funk  &  Wagnalls),  1902 

,  Christian  Endeavor  in  All  Lands  (Philadelphia),  1906 

,  in  New  England  Magazine  (Boston:   Congregational  Sunday  School 

Pub.  Society),  N.S.,  VI,  513;   Century  Magazine  (New  York),  LXXXII, 

858;  North  American  (New  York),  CLXI,  287;    The  Independent  (New 

York),  XLIV,  930;  LIII,  264 
Hill,  "Leaders  of  the  Christian  Endeavor  Movement,"  New  England  Magazine 

(Boston),  N.S.,  XII,  586 
Woods,  "A  New  Crusade  Proposed  for  the  Y.P.S.C.E.,"   Christian   Union 

(New  York),  November,  1892 
Hyde,  The  Outlook  (New  York),  LXVI,  889  (see  also  LXVII,  122) 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  121 

Christian  Endeavor  Principles  Stated  and  Commended  from  English  Experience 

(S.S.U.) 
See  also  Golden  Rule  (Boston),  February  5,  1891;  Christian  Endeavor  World 

(Boston),  January  26,  191 1 

X.      OTHER   ORGANIZATIONS 
I.      EPWORTH   LEAGUE 

Epworth  Herald  (Chicago),  to  date  (1885  to  189 1,  Our  Youth) 
Handbook  of  Epworth  League  (Chicago) ,  (annual) 
Berry,  The  Independent  (New  York),  XLIV,  932 
Price,  in  The  Chautauquan  (Meadville,  Pa.),  XIII,  187 

Buckley,  History  of  the  Methodists  of  the  United  States  (Christian  Literature 
Co.),  1896 

2.      BAPTIST  YOUNG  PEOPLE'S   UNION  OF  AMERICA 

The  Loyalist;   Young  People  at  Work;   Young  People's  Union;   Baptist  Union; 

Service  1890  to  date  (A.B.P.S.) 
Proceedings  of  the  (usually)  Annual  Conventions  (A.B.P.S.) 
Newman,  History  of  Baptists  (Christian  Literature  Co.) 

3,      BROTHERHOOD   OF   ST.   ANDREW 

St.  Andrew's  Cross  (Philadelphia),  (monthly) 

Hough teling,  in  Christianity  Practically  Applied,  1893 

Carleton,  in  Service  (A.B.P.S.),  Ill,  382 

Ruleson,  in  The  Independent  (New  York),  XLIV,  933 

Tiffany,  History  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  the  United  States,  1895 

(Christian  Literature  Co.) 
Carpenter,  "Religious  Brotherhoods,"  Contemporary  Review  (London),  LVII 

(1889),  29 

4.      BROTHERHOOD   OF  ANDREW  AND   PHILIP 

Brotherhood  Star  (Philadelphia) ,  (monthly) 
Manual  of  Brotherhood  of  Andrew  and  Philip  (New  York),  n.d. 
Taylor,  Graham,  in  Christianity  Practically  Applied,  1893 
Epworth  Herald  (Chicago),  XIII,  819;  XX,  84 

5.      LUTHER   LEAGUE   OF  AMERICA 

The  Independent  (New  York),  November  14,  1895 

Jacobs,  History  of  the  Evangelical  Lutheran  Church  in  the  United  States  (Christian 
Literature  Co.),  1893 

6.      YOUNG   people's    CHRISTIAN    UNION    OF   THE    UNITED    BRETHREN    CHURCH 

Landis,  in  The  Independent  (New  York),  XLIX,  401 

Berger,  History  of  the  Church  of  the  United  Brethren  in  Christ    (Christian 
Literature  Co.),  1894 


122  THE   YOUNG   PEOPLE'S   MOVEMENT 

7.      KEYSTONE   LEAGUE   OF  CHRISTIAN  ENDEAVOR 

Christian  Endeavor  World  (Boston),  XXV,  621 

8.      YOUNG    people's    CHRISTIAN    UNION    OF    THE    UNIVERSALIST    CHURCH 

Onward  (Boston) 

Epworth  Herald  (Chicago),  IX,  850 

Golden  Rule  (Boston),  VI,  76;  VII,  892 

Eddy,  History  of  Universalism  (Christian  Literature  Co.),  1894 

9.      STUDENT  VOLUNTEER  MOVEMENT 

The  Intercollegian  (New  York) 

INIott,  Evangelization  of  the  World  in  This  Generation  (S.V.M.) 
Dutton,  in  Baptist  Union  (A.B.P.S.),  XII,  616  ff.,  644  ff.,  664  ff.,  692  ff. 
Proceedings,  Baptist  Union  Convention  (A.P.B.S.),  1900,  pp.  64  flf. 
Speer,  in  The  hidependent  (New  York),  XLIV,  932 
Reports  and  other  literature  of  World's  Student  Christian  Federation 
Baptist  Union  (A.B.P.S.),  VIII,  147;   Service  (A.B.P.S.),  II,  269;  III,  578; 
VI,  546;  Epworth  Herald  (Chicago),  IX,  814;  XVI,  1096 

10.      JEWISH 

Year  Books  of  Central  Conference  of  American  Rabbis,  especially  Reports  of 
committees  on  Religious  Work  in  Universities,  Religious  Schools,  and 
Social  and  Religious  Union  (Blochj 

American  Jewish  Year  Book  (Bloch) 


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